tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51117883455645828782024-03-05T07:56:44.837+00:00Easy does itA blog about the sounds of surpriseFernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-54880527546535026062023-12-15T13:37:00.009+00:002024-01-18T13:53:47.529+00:00Miles Ahead in images<p style="text-align: justify;">Some time ago, I put together <a href="https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2022/02/miles-davis-february-4th-1958in-pictures.html" target="_blank">Dennis Stock's photos from the first session for Miles Davis's <i>Milestones</i> record</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We now turn to one of the sessions for <i>Miles Ahead</i>, the first Miles Davis/Gil Evans collaboration for Columbia, a relevant LP in Miles Davis's career for its commercial success (the infamous change of covers was made easier by the speed at which runs of prints sold out). The photographs were taken in May 1957 at Columbia's studio on 30th St, Manhattan, and they come from <a href="https://www.milesdavis.com/gallery/miles-davis-photos/" target="_blank">Miles Davis's official website</a>, where they do not carry information on location, date or personnel. From the credits in the Complete Miles/Evans Sony set, we know they were taken by Don Hunstein, Columbia's staff photographer.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES-1vDyCfM_iUpacqFOurpXbeCxeWskXbkTbLDUpS__jRKqP1C0Cupy8ENjN9QOFx9AuWCHKYpt2C4v9Ho0qD_3Hl-ElzEiJgYxivr0u_49ksCXfGu83ajT4P5GjWEPe_405oWsTElqUMMfhrfkm_gk1TStuo2W_aEz3HRN5hYVPMtM__fBIi6yj-Tic/s600/LP%20Cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="600" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES-1vDyCfM_iUpacqFOurpXbeCxeWskXbkTbLDUpS__jRKqP1C0Cupy8ENjN9QOFx9AuWCHKYpt2C4v9Ho0qD_3Hl-ElzEiJgYxivr0u_49ksCXfGu83ajT4P5GjWEPe_405oWsTElqUMMfhrfkm_gk1TStuo2W_aEz3HRN5hYVPMtM__fBIi6yj-Tic/w400-h394/LP%20Cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second and final LP cover (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/15424239-Miles-Davis-Gil-Evans-Miles-Ahead" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The most significant image is the one showing the ensemble (except bass and drums), because it shows the positions of musicians and microphones (a grand total of four were used) to record an orchestra out of balance between the brass (one microphone in the middle for five trumpets, four trombones, two French horns and one tuba) and the "reeds" (one microphone for four chairs sharing alto sax/clarinets/flutes/oboe). As the (almost) only soloist, Davis has his own microphone, and I guess the fourth was for bass and drums, out of frame (click on the images to enlarge them).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv0SclLreswCwb60UU-Iy9Ow7YjPJlnU7kHoo6g3pqY0oSOINauF1mqBL7QnzVMPmAnlacbquP2-SJauVm1206dpp1QVkpbnPFukTZG-NX2rGBL5McrFD3eUNdM4eUN1798yXXdtgHdlbXPfPUCyJhKTNfMZ7ABfqpVCAzFkas3jkGLopkXvzfubGrrk/s1200/Band%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitv0SclLreswCwb60UU-Iy9Ow7YjPJlnU7kHoo6g3pqY0oSOINauF1mqBL7QnzVMPmAnlacbquP2-SJauVm1206dpp1QVkpbnPFukTZG-NX2rGBL5McrFD3eUNdM4eUN1798yXXdtgHdlbXPfPUCyJhKTNfMZ7ABfqpVCAzFkas3jkGLopkXvzfubGrrk/w400-h266/Band%20TOUCH.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><a name='more'></a><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMCWD8kpgID1SZ62SQHf304TGMmX6pY4RhR3ICdmGHsZJuINJfphZuqe2OboUd3LzmOpA8OCT4MGAEbOopZWAXf2V3qTR_nTnZx5BYu6K5S0hVGGgHN_nbi8IIxPOngNKAa8-gJwqzVyXDe0ySlsn6yLgk1WCtbcgLKEa4W0yA-8U4Sp4TljXFrj_Qhg/s1200/Band%20with%20names.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMCWD8kpgID1SZ62SQHf304TGMmX6pY4RhR3ICdmGHsZJuINJfphZuqe2OboUd3LzmOpA8OCT4MGAEbOopZWAXf2V3qTR_nTnZx5BYu6K5S0hVGGgHN_nbi8IIxPOngNKAa8-gJwqzVyXDe0ySlsn6yLgk1WCtbcgLKEa4W0yA-8U4Sp4TljXFrj_Qhg/w400-h266/Band%20with%20names.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carisi, Evans, Miles, Konitz and Barber were in the <i>Birth of the Cool</i> nonet (1948-50)<br />Mucci, Evans and Barber were together in Claude Thornhill's orchestra (from 1942)<br />Mucci, Royal, Glow, Bank and Penque are present in every session with<br />Miles and Evans for Columbia between 1957 and 1960 <br />(the albums <i>Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess </i>and<i> Sketches of Spain</i>).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>About these sessions, I have presented a couple of papers and have written extensively, <a href="https://jazz-hitz.musikene.eus/index.php/jazz-hitz/article/view/11" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>More images:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdH82HbFFpo6T4PXAwz1lHSeP_B7MBdtHvOaZ9NhmZFMn6bv-6l_6k34j5VcRtTna9sBA7AGfJ6BhGwYffTQIPyQs0ImmCLE3jZUEVlYiZBgyYsvdm20nK0448BezyNZ1UczaVr1lvSUx44cbkA7e39l9qKvDh5ajTSgnEbvyJCHebMHu3kWNhvWm0vg/s1057/Banks%20Penque%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="733" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdH82HbFFpo6T4PXAwz1lHSeP_B7MBdtHvOaZ9NhmZFMn6bv-6l_6k34j5VcRtTna9sBA7AGfJ6BhGwYffTQIPyQs0ImmCLE3jZUEVlYiZBgyYsvdm20nK0448BezyNZ1UczaVr1lvSUx44cbkA7e39l9qKvDh5ajTSgnEbvyJCHebMHu3kWNhvWm0vg/w278-h400/Banks%20Penque%20TOUCH.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Miles Ahead</i> has a few rare passages for two bass clarinets.<br />The main was Danny Bank (left), Romeo Penque would join as needed.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi74TvYwTKxqnYjK1HVLLmU1U9GN0W_mzjezNOTLlBO5kalfnEsw2dOOMS1klPiP7ySMLrv924thaA4P9T7zlw4hmTihh8u8uD1fshgDYg0Fq1nUmm9ae3eV3M3e7bxRg0jWqX-2S0MeOWstfCmwuNgWe4NdJWEHtYBbVEFo_HvCgt2tAOKsxzzcwLjw/s800/miles%20and%20reeds%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="527" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLi74TvYwTKxqnYjK1HVLLmU1U9GN0W_mzjezNOTLlBO5kalfnEsw2dOOMS1klPiP7ySMLrv924thaA4P9T7zlw4hmTihh8u8uD1fshgDYg0Fq1nUmm9ae3eV3M3e7bxRg0jWqX-2S0MeOWstfCmwuNgWe4NdJWEHtYBbVEFo_HvCgt2tAOKsxzzcwLjw/w264-h400/miles%20and%20reeds%20TOUCH.jpg" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romeo Penque, Miles Davis, Lee Konitz (only sax on the album).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkr-Hp_M_mlssVMHIzvos_Yv01HGKAW34jYxqNQ8YMgyk86SJgNGhd_3yoW1UAxETYES3mKrxYjDkUHiV-nvzhEFf0XbPQpuj6EKp27Dnk02aj0dut0HtGDMkrscHh7r7ESrD5wz0QUt0IAXpB_WwIyaHdbJpyYFz7OSp0F5pNP8AjeUmAP_Q6OfTU9g/s800/Miles%20Cooper%20Konitz%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="529" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkr-Hp_M_mlssVMHIzvos_Yv01HGKAW34jYxqNQ8YMgyk86SJgNGhd_3yoW1UAxETYES3mKrxYjDkUHiV-nvzhEFf0XbPQpuj6EKp27Dnk02aj0dut0HtGDMkrscHh7r7ESrD5wz0QUt0IAXpB_WwIyaHdbJpyYFz7OSp0F5pNP8AjeUmAP_Q6OfTU9g/w265-h400/Miles%20Cooper%20Konitz%20TOUCH.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid Cooper, Miles Davis and Lee Konitz.<br />Miles plays only flugelhorn (Martin) on this album.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfCF4ZmHVHluTIDlYmUFasvr3F-LbhO8E11lY00dIMbeuYd0YgjQyXcSClCfSZpRsx9XTXezvKsVUxm9xSzL2BFp1Luw1w27oXP8UiQkFNb1R1POHZTdL2rk3selAgscpLbwTrFIEXoOsso8gTE5b0W-GIb5NWzmXQW52QQOpxlP_fMLTgTaA0niXLug/s800/Miles%20looking%20up%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="531" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyfCF4ZmHVHluTIDlYmUFasvr3F-LbhO8E11lY00dIMbeuYd0YgjQyXcSClCfSZpRsx9XTXezvKsVUxm9xSzL2BFp1Luw1w27oXP8UiQkFNb1R1POHZTdL2rk3selAgscpLbwTrFIEXoOsso8gTE5b0W-GIb5NWzmXQW52QQOpxlP_fMLTgTaA0niXLug/w265-h400/Miles%20looking%20up%20TOUCH.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles Davis with Sid Cooper and Lee Konitz behind.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXav4rVBs9Sobse9tei5Wdu97tRyVx1IAxCsGAgAEr7CMv8HviGDoAjkCC_QaBKFu3_fVk53Zew1KtpRTeLKaLKGR9QJ2fP-RsdlAlzQD31eHZ19tRlJaZ1BJTygsDL-OH0b5Jwnvs30C8lje2i9_j5nJatmB_0PEPd6G_R3gIoICgFMLq32adZMTxSG0/s800/Miles%20Barber%20Jimmy%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="532" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXav4rVBs9Sobse9tei5Wdu97tRyVx1IAxCsGAgAEr7CMv8HviGDoAjkCC_QaBKFu3_fVk53Zew1KtpRTeLKaLKGR9QJ2fP-RsdlAlzQD31eHZ19tRlJaZ1BJTygsDL-OH0b5Jwnvs30C8lje2i9_j5nJatmB_0PEPd6G_R3gIoICgFMLq32adZMTxSG0/w266-h400/Miles%20Barber%20Jimmy%20TOUCH.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Barber on tuba, Miles Davis and Tony Miranda on French horn.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><b>Bonus</b> (this is from <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/355151/so-what-by-john-szwed/9781448106462" target="_blank"><i>So What!</i>, John Szwed's biography of Miles Davis)</a>, same people as above, with the addition of producer George Avakian standing next to Carisi):</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD09ZabrbZ6Iprh4UvbdX6OiXU9qYMttb9dlqgd84ATOVovRTAjiOmQhbDPhbekJYzx3vMjRt-VBift1Ud5_Soz5cF9vV7zuJYNtvIlLdNTsOilVNkp3002o6APYIO5vhAy5QXqjN1QkxDVdbclZcmSvWeriVMjely3iIgEDF_Gd_Xnwf5dsu9ePx1mes/s1453/Band%20Szwed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="1453" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD09ZabrbZ6Iprh4UvbdX6OiXU9qYMttb9dlqgd84ATOVovRTAjiOmQhbDPhbekJYzx3vMjRt-VBift1Ud5_Soz5cF9vV7zuJYNtvIlLdNTsOilVNkp3002o6APYIO5vhAy5QXqjN1QkxDVdbclZcmSvWeriVMjely3iIgEDF_Gd_Xnwf5dsu9ePx1mes/w400-h266/Band%20Szwed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">PS (17Jan24):</i> in the documentary about Miles Davis <i>The Birth of the Cool </i>(2019), more photos from the same session are shown. These are the most significant to my eyes:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoqIGfODZJFiWw-KwzxamAkLlLPNLjuy-LHiE-rFTSgiCfQJQeJnd40_FT9KH3AE9_a6EuNwB41G4mHW3MJrdwzR7cUC53qRVo5HEsUxJul2sHAZfeGDXvfkziRRSqA6poXOlRb5Y387JUuxb0HddOy4S0eHUIrEHHhzQHPVFy2RyEW2s2rwZF8ETKPg/s959/Miles%20Ahead%20circle%205%20MARK.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="959" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoqIGfODZJFiWw-KwzxamAkLlLPNLjuy-LHiE-rFTSgiCfQJQeJnd40_FT9KH3AE9_a6EuNwB41G4mHW3MJrdwzR7cUC53qRVo5HEsUxJul2sHAZfeGDXvfkziRRSqA6poXOlRb5Y387JUuxb0HddOy4S0eHUIrEHHhzQHPVFy2RyEW2s2rwZF8ETKPg/w400-h225/Miles%20Ahead%20circle%205%20MARK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the top left, clockwise, with Miles Davis in the middle: <br />Jimmy Cleveland, Bernie Glow, Taft Jordan, (Ernie Royal and Louis Mucci partially hidden), <br />Johnny Carisi, Gil Evans, Sid Cooper making a note, and Lee Konitz</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOup8avLrxHjwKzikiUcoZX1aB7UHdeWTPIsdKjSMQhiKbnD-R90P8DMo2grqOvIS09GpSN_8MmcTcK_7890HzCbOO-lTBCEWZPizsznvjrmFP3bCdgYG2Plg6YB_1bk6rIbmlvShGDc49nJd43oSqmk9n-uSTAk_Dj8QQREe0ZR4jThcnm8pBTTtIvv0/s958/Miles%20Ahead%20circle%201%20Maids%20of%20Cadiz%20MARK.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="958" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOup8avLrxHjwKzikiUcoZX1aB7UHdeWTPIsdKjSMQhiKbnD-R90P8DMo2grqOvIS09GpSN_8MmcTcK_7890HzCbOO-lTBCEWZPizsznvjrmFP3bCdgYG2Plg6YB_1bk6rIbmlvShGDc49nJd43oSqmk9n-uSTAk_Dj8QQREe0ZR4jThcnm8pBTTtIvv0/w400-h226/Miles%20Ahead%20circle%201%20Maids%20of%20Cadiz%20MARK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Same as above. <br />From the parts, they seem to be playing "Maids of Cadiz"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYjLxc90QgV8oKA_Yc6b3MqQothyagOsOhFjqrzw9Tls7Sm9joHxiElcV91Z9rAi4NrX3KT047yxY1iOjztlI5AjgrZagt2T6fb2YEbdgM3TCx1R-Bqv1LWKpsf3zMNzYr6kMUptAxmVJmQjC3EM__wk7nvAe2yvD5evQrVRe_roEEmsKE708PtyooH4/s961/Miles%20Ahead%20Miles%20Gil%20Avakian%20MARK.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="961" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYjLxc90QgV8oKA_Yc6b3MqQothyagOsOhFjqrzw9Tls7Sm9joHxiElcV91Z9rAi4NrX3KT047yxY1iOjztlI5AjgrZagt2T6fb2YEbdgM3TCx1R-Bqv1LWKpsf3zMNzYr6kMUptAxmVJmQjC3EM__wk7nvAe2yvD5evQrVRe_roEEmsKE708PtyooH4/w400-h224/Miles%20Ahead%20Miles%20Gil%20Avakian%20MARK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gil Evans, George Avakian and Miles Davis (and Romeo Penque)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbfi8MvnZ5Zc3Dx1KN9j2xJG05jM7QxkAMY0GLFTdBD559usDdwUvuG7ICCe81TpN9NyMVQusmof46YN9aG2G4NdrkFQt1wrK4rbTJ55VhyphenhyphenBOhvVNqOp42FbtC2FNZev-7rnEkkOfpskRD-cjnndrKu5gmQIG9tJ6IVsLV_7p936NJTLUzlZv-Zpe4As/s960/Miles%20Ahead%20Miles%20Gil%205%20MARK.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="960" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidbfi8MvnZ5Zc3Dx1KN9j2xJG05jM7QxkAMY0GLFTdBD559usDdwUvuG7ICCe81TpN9NyMVQusmof46YN9aG2G4NdrkFQt1wrK4rbTJ55VhyphenhyphenBOhvVNqOp42FbtC2FNZev-7rnEkkOfpskRD-cjnndrKu5gmQIG9tJ6IVsLV_7p936NJTLUzlZv-Zpe4As/w400-h224/Miles%20Ahead%20Miles%20Gil%205%20MARK.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gil Evans and Miles Davis</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-53435265646512585892023-11-10T22:23:00.003+00:002023-11-10T22:53:13.687+00:00Charlie Parker and Chet Baker 70 years ago<div style="text-align: justify;">In late October of 1953, about 70 years ago, producer <a href="https://genenorman.gnpcrescendo.com/" target="_blank">Gene Norman</a>—he of the label <a href="http://gnpcrescendo.com/wp/" target="_blank">GNP/Crescendo</a>—organized a mini-tour of the West Coast with two bands. The header was the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Brubeck on piano, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Ron Crotty on bass, and Lloyd Davis on drums—1953 was a significant year for Brubeck: the quartet recorded <i>Jazz at Oberlin</i> on March 2 and <i>Jazz at College of the Pacific</i> on December 14, a month after that mini-tour.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other band in the bill was a Charlie Parker quintet with Chet Baker on trumpet, Jimmy Rowles on piano, Carson Smith on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums (Parker and Baker had met the year before in California). As for Parker, on May 15 he had taken part in the famous <a href="https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2013/05/salt-peanuts-salt-peanuts-massey-hall.html" target="_blank">"Quintet of the Year" concert at Massey Hall</a> in Toronto, and in the second half of the year he would play at the Open Door in New York City, the location of some <a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/BirdSessions.aspx?s=530726" target="_blank">spectacular recordings</a> and some <a href="https://samstephenson.org/greatest-jazz-photograph/" target="_blank">well-known photographs by Bob Parent</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to <a href="http://plosin.com/milesAhead/BirdChronology.aspx" target="_blank">Leif Bo Petersen's chronology</a>, the dates of that tour were as follows:</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>October 30: Olympia, WA</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>October 31: Seattle, WA</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>November 1: Portland, OR</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>November 2: Vancouver, BC, Canada</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>November 4: Eugene, OR</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>November 7: Hollywood, CA</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><span> </span>November 8: San Diego, CA</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Portland, OR, they were snapped by local photographer Carl Henniger:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79Cd2d7ZNZaMu3e6qDw95XjQfGYFQ-m6QmT-j1EjkotJjp8jD390GgnDNW8Q5TekThr0Tt73VDEkc-slxVHitiEtiUmr_BamBHJp7SFxnDF5bpXgMBtRyXwV4xl17guID3VvhQ88M0pIQayakJIsLoaUFrEgWs3l2e97DD_E5RL_ghsKYKXhUwnLM4q8/s820/Carson%20Smith%20Charlie%20Parker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="820" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79Cd2d7ZNZaMu3e6qDw95XjQfGYFQ-m6QmT-j1EjkotJjp8jD390GgnDNW8Q5TekThr0Tt73VDEkc-slxVHitiEtiUmr_BamBHJp7SFxnDF5bpXgMBtRyXwV4xl17guID3VvhQ88M0pIQayakJIsLoaUFrEgWs3l2e97DD_E5RL_ghsKYKXhUwnLM4q8/w400-h380/Carson%20Smith%20Charlie%20Parker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carson Smith and Charlie Parker</td></tr></tbody></table><a name='more'></a><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShWkrVx3A5MZ4T9Ztr4MbMc2BgyIVSPQSGo0Q3nwofBVluzlmHEx9CvYBwHtculHj8sH9rZOqGKPOr1oeU5W7Q3PA7G0gDKYsxVhdgxueJzRBmqtM04nBL5gCpY2Fjd2_t9KvfF4mcMpqHghFTH0hj2qfy8i2qcPCIhFnD2LUZ4bWuKSrnROi3Ak0IA4/s810/Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="593" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShWkrVx3A5MZ4T9Ztr4MbMc2BgyIVSPQSGo0Q3nwofBVluzlmHEx9CvYBwHtculHj8sH9rZOqGKPOr1oeU5W7Q3PA7G0gDKYsxVhdgxueJzRBmqtM04nBL5gCpY2Fjd2_t9KvfF4mcMpqHghFTH0hj2qfy8i2qcPCIhFnD2LUZ4bWuKSrnROi3Ak0IA4/w293-h400/Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chet Baker</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1kB0wI3jwpliDrK7T0l_bDw3AhOhYJpEdYVm2yYTDQcnu_1zNAmGLeLf3OaY8G9cd-d7jsR-WEsixP6zf38s3OG-rOAUu2ancwrpPuUfLRk-0LGdkTm_IiQA78SxWZfFtR7x3mJDqVukXcpjrZiUDbvvFnMuY698mhj70ZR2B9vhm0TbsOrLvEQnWuA/s820/Charlie%20Parker%20Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="686" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1kB0wI3jwpliDrK7T0l_bDw3AhOhYJpEdYVm2yYTDQcnu_1zNAmGLeLf3OaY8G9cd-d7jsR-WEsixP6zf38s3OG-rOAUu2ancwrpPuUfLRk-0LGdkTm_IiQA78SxWZfFtR7x3mJDqVukXcpjrZiUDbvvFnMuY698mhj70ZR2B9vhm0TbsOrLvEQnWuA/w335-h400/Charlie%20Parker%20Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="335" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Parker and Chet Baker</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_kBNd7hpnInOhbOHfET59GxDSVJtzdwJN6l1ruXQrWgFI-0nOCWMmWHivlG-pE6kR3DbGIEll3Y9bu6BhqnXBauJBW6Pnwxa8WlqGezCh-udBW_49iK3USMgG7Ty3-qj9WdNPfScYYWN3pb9tixJJnvILTPwRzNtzCQxFHUY57snN-FHrv5UStj9KzA/s820/Charlie%20Parker%20journo%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="685" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_kBNd7hpnInOhbOHfET59GxDSVJtzdwJN6l1ruXQrWgFI-0nOCWMmWHivlG-pE6kR3DbGIEll3Y9bu6BhqnXBauJBW6Pnwxa8WlqGezCh-udBW_49iK3USMgG7Ty3-qj9WdNPfScYYWN3pb9tixJJnvILTPwRzNtzCQxFHUY57snN-FHrv5UStj9KzA/w334-h400/Charlie%20Parker%20journo%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="334" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Parker being interviewed</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9FhEE_FZjBHaGPNsmi8et84TndkH2IJDsYsiOi7byrg4wscB4gR6rq2hr8wvUDohRSryfQgw3yipOv_UWe_Z_K3DHi_QeJKENPTIQoUf3rCAIui8Y9ee3UEGhL-4DHs7SdAC1wq0jl2SfUbu4C-RduoL0oUPJWwHjoLh3zEUIx4AnHJPhUrAwCLTMQw/s820/Shelly%20Manne%20Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="777" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9FhEE_FZjBHaGPNsmi8et84TndkH2IJDsYsiOi7byrg4wscB4gR6rq2hr8wvUDohRSryfQgw3yipOv_UWe_Z_K3DHi_QeJKENPTIQoUf3rCAIui8Y9ee3UEGhL-4DHs7SdAC1wq0jl2SfUbu4C-RduoL0oUPJWwHjoLh3zEUIx4AnHJPhUrAwCLTMQw/w379-h400/Shelly%20Manne%20Chet%20Baker%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="379" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelly Manne and Chet Baker</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG966TOmbccyOB5s4cE79HZOedMZIkaLgTW3FwCydGpYnrl3QTlUABiHf303Rkcruw8ZYGpKIxR79IMq20T38BUodkTijo9MQQmtOdhZLH9PmyOk5lxncJJxJIK27eRHiEVym7FW0w9HgFICpKcF3dRDjUNJ-9cvT8BvufGyyvKMVci1wR5k_ViQ6OIOs/s820/Dave%20Brubeck%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="820" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG966TOmbccyOB5s4cE79HZOedMZIkaLgTW3FwCydGpYnrl3QTlUABiHf303Rkcruw8ZYGpKIxR79IMq20T38BUodkTijo9MQQmtOdhZLH9PmyOk5lxncJJxJIK27eRHiEVym7FW0w9HgFICpKcF3dRDjUNJ-9cvT8BvufGyyvKMVci1wR5k_ViQ6OIOs/w400-h318/Dave%20Brubeck%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Brubeck</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHi6s01YSCxfvEF53pgXwJrwsqu4PXPBQC7wzZACyZBdwmkQIG0fL_vE9ZGEH2HWoTsXvUUk4_53-UFiIackSy_t5OWWBTfJQhIAoa-pt5QZ8MCB9a0b2bpifDkfq3hSWxErqAhGP6JgFdtVwubG3nbdzKIvg177uyPUjtdKUuvCU_SkN2FOY_BsVnED8/s1024/Paul%20Desmond%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="744" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHi6s01YSCxfvEF53pgXwJrwsqu4PXPBQC7wzZACyZBdwmkQIG0fL_vE9ZGEH2HWoTsXvUUk4_53-UFiIackSy_t5OWWBTfJQhIAoa-pt5QZ8MCB9a0b2bpifDkfq3hSWxErqAhGP6JgFdtVwubG3nbdzKIvg177uyPUjtdKUuvCU_SkN2FOY_BsVnED8/w291-h400/Paul%20Desmond%20by%20Carl%20Henniger%20TOUCH.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Desmond</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Besides these images from the concert in Portland, we have some music from <a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/BirdSessions.aspx?s=531104" target="_blank">Charlie Parker's set in Eugene, OR</a> (on November 4, not 5 as usually noted).</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/n3LeqQBVoRA?si=swSzEqCuGZY7Sq6w" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>~</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>LINKS:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>You can read about Henniger and buy prints of his work <a href="https://morrisonhotelgallery.com/collections/carl-henniger" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-9467160965413384742023-08-08T17:54:00.008+01:002023-09-05T11:22:46.781+01:00Steve McQueen's vinyl collection<p style="text-align: justify;">His ability as an actor aside, Steve McQueen was a photogenic man, as proved by the work of photographers like William Claxton and John Dominis. The latter, <a href="https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2016/02/sinatra-at-sands-at-50.html" target="_blank">who's been featured in this blog before</a>, took this image below, which may be familiar to music lovers.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmln9Ng98RG09I9qDYLFmVeYNkEqBGeu1KbrHLiz-ZtuWcYN0FG8Hc0pwUs4QlYVhKfjBmXP1a7duQYqjhl4-DLR-agBHF02K7bVzpLOntb9h8sqItrU9hc3afWL98rksHpKHOF5QrTPFsdQ2ayr_CIKSvgLWUrExum-g5sOEvTF4nLERe4W3kR9lE=s2560" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1725" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmln9Ng98RG09I9qDYLFmVeYNkEqBGeu1KbrHLiz-ZtuWcYN0FG8Hc0pwUs4QlYVhKfjBmXP1a7duQYqjhl4-DLR-agBHF02K7bVzpLOntb9h8sqItrU9hc3afWL98rksHpKHOF5QrTPFsdQ2ayr_CIKSvgLWUrExum-g5sOEvTF4nLERe4W3kR9lE=w432-h640" width="432" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve McQueen in 1963 by John Dominis<br />©John Dominis/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images<br />(<a href="https://time.com/3490078/life-with-steve-mcqueen-photos-of-the-king-of-cool-in-1963/photo/at-his-bungalow-in-palm-springs-steve-mcqueen-practices-his-aim-before-heading-out-for-a-shooting-session-in-the-desert-1963/" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">If you're reading this, you've probably wondered what are those LPs spread all over Mr. McQueen's floor (we want to believe he's not stepping on one of them). If that's the case, I think I have been able to identify all the sleeves, even those only partially visible.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The two immediate conclusions are, firstly, that McQueen must have had some direct or indirect contact at Atlantic Records: not only is the label with most LPs in the room, but there seem to be up to three copies of one album.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Secondly, this collection of LPs, mostly stereo, is of its time. Even though LPs recorded and published in the mid-1950s could already considered to be high-fidelity soundwise, from about 1957 recordings are made also in stereo—often in paralel to mono—and towards the end of that decade stereo sound becomes the norm, with the popularity of hi-fi.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Given the rising tide of hi-fi equipment, record labels on the one hand phased out mono sound, and on the other they adapted their existing and still recent mono stock to the new stereo sound, through processes of "remastering" or "rechanneling", which at times didn't amount to much more than playing the same music through both left and right channels with minor differences in equalization or phase in order to give the listener a sense of space, of "stereo". This is the case with at least two of the LPs in the list below, numbers "6" and "14". The rest are LPs published in stereo, except for two instances of mono issues.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've numbered the LPs in the image below. I've also added links to Qobuz (for audio) and Discogs (for info on the LPs).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, it is quite clear that Mr. McQueen had excellent taste, or he knew how to be advised on musical matters.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUJcx_ir78WIrZ9SXvcGIItlgT0f9-pMfYR0lg9Cgf0r4kr0KqFfDIBfMkvS9gdA0q5X0uuYa6cKiXoDTj5-BZaAlvQPvgrEQZ44EndXo6fXbXb6jm4eZwIuN1L1jqmnlJqaVVX3r227JFIzw6Jjluc4sxA92VRjNwDzvExJo0Pav7CZHrM6Ikhjvm=s1029" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="885" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUJcx_ir78WIrZ9SXvcGIItlgT0f9-pMfYR0lg9Cgf0r4kr0KqFfDIBfMkvS9gdA0q5X0uuYa6cKiXoDTj5-BZaAlvQPvgrEQZ44EndXo6fXbXb6jm4eZwIuN1L1jqmnlJqaVVX3r227JFIzw6Jjluc4sxA92VRjNwDzvExJo0Pav7CZHrM6Ikhjvm=w344-h400" width="344" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Click on the image to enlarge it)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><p>1. <b>John Coltrane: </b><i><b>My Favorite Things</b> </i>(stereo) (<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0081227520465" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) [<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/4186775-John-Coltrane-My-Favorite-Things" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBvbBq8GQWuwC01QDKGyKTFgNaS6k_dfMVTLTCxAUIH9J1i6JBEwSuwXqwRAWRtB-tveVOFcpaYastDj1XmPi41uaifMuJKecPf5TjGKFFJgfwcyNf9_sWFjj8HO9LozpXH1mzh1gRJgEb3wMl4ZyuMPp3aC7ro4lexEMX9zeXkCqPoDMp7t8XkS7x=s448" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="448" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgBvbBq8GQWuwC01QDKGyKTFgNaS6k_dfMVTLTCxAUIH9J1i6JBEwSuwXqwRAWRtB-tveVOFcpaYastDj1XmPi41uaifMuJKecPf5TjGKFFJgfwcyNf9_sWFjj8HO9LozpXH1mzh1gRJgEb3wMl4ZyuMPp3aC7ro4lexEMX9zeXkCqPoDMp7t8XkS7x=w320-h245" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTAngxXwAElaIM?format=png&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTAngxXwAElaIM?format=png&name=small" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">2. <b>Milt Jackson & John Coltrane: </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Bags & Trane</i> (<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0603497894727" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) [<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/8287179-Milt-Jackson-John-Coltrane-Bags-Trane" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHsBZgshkpR-5IhP2ek4XuYNM_rinJBR3It1z96jwg0R8BYDRXbHnfY_0YGLqFnNe35K7dxB1rmRP9NCRrPxoRGBdbv5GGH5BRH9BiBa2RxzJ2HzgsR7A1ZVCoiY-79NS0-7d55QxsE6J7dpJSIaaGlGEJMN5gCOAUfPdxlSA2OmzsUHVP06FF67IM=s257" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="196" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHsBZgshkpR-5IhP2ek4XuYNM_rinJBR3It1z96jwg0R8BYDRXbHnfY_0YGLqFnNe35K7dxB1rmRP9NCRrPxoRGBdbv5GGH5BRH9BiBa2RxzJ2HzgsR7A1ZVCoiY-79NS0-7d55QxsE6J7dpJSIaaGlGEJMN5gCOAUfPdxlSA2OmzsUHVP06FF67IM" width="196" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbOT5V_y-Zf4IBKOcHj0QGoVAVsQfC5ILWFb0RJ4F6PqeFA9CkqkEnxY7mQznTTybOz2g5HVg8z_V462BNTvIVu1BjwOHKzDrcH3luZDtfXrle1JJ2t6SKYJ2HjRnL5JVHEZ1Ngz83RXlkLADau_WgK6O8io0jRSk0w-RuILGhitMB6IupvUidK1dQ=s462" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="462" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhbOT5V_y-Zf4IBKOcHj0QGoVAVsQfC5ILWFb0RJ4F6PqeFA9CkqkEnxY7mQznTTybOz2g5HVg8z_V462BNTvIVu1BjwOHKzDrcH3luZDtfXrle1JJ2t6SKYJ2HjRnL5JVHEZ1Ngz83RXlkLADau_WgK6O8io0jRSk0w-RuILGhitMB6IupvUidK1dQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">3. <b>Frank Sinatra & Count Basie: </b></span><i style="text-align: left;"><b>Sinatra-Basie</b> </i><span style="text-align: left;">(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0060253755783" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1751037-Sinatra-Basie-Sinatra-Basie-An-Historic-Musical-First" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: left;"><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQWzKPyG8tMbj949nbsZbpQaJqIo-HYythZvvQOwm3DJ4F9RuY0QJfum_vNbBANUeDBtTHHp0pU-wPO54TMUxD5GggQX2jWO7IQSZxAQ5LBl5o-dq9dl91cM_dHzc8bhRuMS6RhGuwJLRD9MWlkWoMCIE91fAaIzbe5Ib3wWRQSz1_fNnx2BWvDy62=s248" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="223" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiQWzKPyG8tMbj949nbsZbpQaJqIo-HYythZvvQOwm3DJ4F9RuY0QJfum_vNbBANUeDBtTHHp0pU-wPO54TMUxD5GggQX2jWO7IQSZxAQ5LBl5o-dq9dl91cM_dHzc8bhRuMS6RhGuwJLRD9MWlkWoMCIE91fAaIzbe5Ib3wWRQSz1_fNnx2BWvDy62" width="223" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rUopd7Wf3Qlpbb12_zqA2q4Bf8Ps9euWaYYc85mq0KkeS6wGaDmFwzEtXow_lL_CPILmqO3OADJ2pSzKeq1tsXSHjrNF6G5ftC97ua86JhV73wi5wtbV24VX8DNYYaNGmhZPexzgNwjepAJQvXhNc9w_461d5OJbFygzs3GFjFr_2amwC97uvmlYYjM/s669/Sinatra-Basie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="669" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rUopd7Wf3Qlpbb12_zqA2q4Bf8Ps9euWaYYc85mq0KkeS6wGaDmFwzEtXow_lL_CPILmqO3OADJ2pSzKeq1tsXSHjrNF6G5ftC97ua86JhV73wi5wtbV24VX8DNYYaNGmhZPexzgNwjepAJQvXhNc9w_461d5OJbFygzs3GFjFr_2amwC97uvmlYYjM/s320/Sinatra-Basie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">4. <b>The Jazztet</b> (Art Farmer & Benny Golson): <i><b>Meet the Jazztet </b></i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/fl1szh1bfdipc" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1592840-Art-Farmer-Benny-GolsonJazztet-Meet-The-Jazztet" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4B1vOIgKXzfU85Ye2aBmVQuSPeAzeCdE5t0r9LaJ8ma6iS57MKhjMndbjLOK91sYMeEHxVZaL0OqG6praOxONLtVYImsiw7_RdK_la7FVolpre0BYMFeA32OWBnYMnNeMRbM_JClzH8V54ZGIpdpzrnm6969eGOHQ10pfKFy0-TQdRIRrILqg5IWo=s338" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="338" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4B1vOIgKXzfU85Ye2aBmVQuSPeAzeCdE5t0r9LaJ8ma6iS57MKhjMndbjLOK91sYMeEHxVZaL0OqG6praOxONLtVYImsiw7_RdK_la7FVolpre0BYMFeA32OWBnYMnNeMRbM_JClzH8V54ZGIpdpzrnm6969eGOHQ10pfKFy0-TQdRIRrILqg5IWo=w200-h194" width="200" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTBTO1WUAYSY_M?format=png&name=900x900" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTBTO1WUAYSY_M?format=png&name=900x900" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">5. <b>John Lewis: </b><i><b>The Golden Striker</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/soqvqwij6t5pa" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) (there seem to be up to three copies of this record) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/8377705-John-Lewis-The-Golden-Striker" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuH9Pvvrcbsx1gKbs3C4VY5G1yRypOd5VoLhIP-uT5hwMdzDgw5eUXXrBKarOOfmFevFno2zT2efEcL8uzH6QjouR2fSnaF6siyWSEmfLK_Qf14HRFDKvav6VwWwWTf1xLMaJakGM7b4YZX2N4NGaoq4C3XjzvY0cgvsMEx2zxrwJRVf-i9CB6LBj_=s823" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="823" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjuH9Pvvrcbsx1gKbs3C4VY5G1yRypOd5VoLhIP-uT5hwMdzDgw5eUXXrBKarOOfmFevFno2zT2efEcL8uzH6QjouR2fSnaF6siyWSEmfLK_Qf14HRFDKvav6VwWwWTf1xLMaJakGM7b4YZX2N4NGaoq4C3XjzvY0cgvsMEx2zxrwJRVf-i9CB6LBj_=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTLnmOX0AQwJHD?format=png&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTLnmOX0AQwJHD?format=png&name=small" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">6. <b>Miles Davis: </b><i><b>The Original Quintet (First Recording)</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0088807239044" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>). Reissue of <i>Miles</i> (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/4395456-The-New-Miles-Davis-Quintet-Miles" target="_blank">Prestige 7014</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/10417590-Miles-Davis-The-Original-Quintet-First-Recording" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge5LxsQJgZcBTdD7seiCbdE8v-qPAcYgdG-DzgofW9KDAe9mGSdVg9ix1TN_Ge8YzcTlRqkHq8taNMGD9DmZ6OLgQGxK6VjDxGsKpTpU08DBs1tKnkTa6B5OQq8S9lYCyFagMLWaeoTqATMxXH66T2wzlr0oiT8BeAx1rpRJcnmi4eSqbbLtZWIgqi=s339" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="237" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEge5LxsQJgZcBTdD7seiCbdE8v-qPAcYgdG-DzgofW9KDAe9mGSdVg9ix1TN_Ge8YzcTlRqkHq8taNMGD9DmZ6OLgQGxK6VjDxGsKpTpU08DBs1tKnkTa6B5OQq8S9lYCyFagMLWaeoTqATMxXH66T2wzlr0oiT8BeAx1rpRJcnmi4eSqbbLtZWIgqi=s320" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Note that his LP was originally recorded in mono, but this reissue is <i>"remastered for stereo"</i>.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhu6FJH8GVXG_KvFuZ2XHGk8bNga1Msg5CF6gKAojiSj9UllimAtBbwyvSxU9zPhY4LSL7ylnMdfjdGTe3slbLyKBwbbWcYVyy2tZDJM2elwrcgTYb1lpnOyFYC1pROdfmHOTonhR-nMQiaWUvfbNjmygTJOyXNJwtr7ZGoxOkg_HXmu1SDDQFRu-2lRo/s479/Miles%20first%20quintet%20remastered.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="479" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhu6FJH8GVXG_KvFuZ2XHGk8bNga1Msg5CF6gKAojiSj9UllimAtBbwyvSxU9zPhY4LSL7ylnMdfjdGTe3slbLyKBwbbWcYVyy2tZDJM2elwrcgTYb1lpnOyFYC1pROdfmHOTonhR-nMQiaWUvfbNjmygTJOyXNJwtr7ZGoxOkg_HXmu1SDDQFRu-2lRo/s320/Miles%20first%20quintet%20remastered.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTFVsDWYAYFUUA?format=png&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="599" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTFVsDWYAYFUUA?format=png&name=small" width="316" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>7. <b>Count Basie: </b><i><b>The Atomic Mr. Basie</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/5099930605459" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/303975-Count-Basie-And-His-Orchestra-Neal-Hefti-Basie" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiM8uiYdptY_zScPvYCFcpy3-z-_ZAHgN75KYxd1sWk9ez5srH7t_2bn7k-qKIODwhrSOPyayCs7HxeU1S8sBjhv9JJK8Cpt7GfVE6-QFOaZE0FuVNnxMebduh85H9Bg-7qg7npUOifKsb1imXXzfiBnKlyPqxk7Fr-CAoG3hVUrW7EmhPYAAottih4=s310" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="216" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiM8uiYdptY_zScPvYCFcpy3-z-_ZAHgN75KYxd1sWk9ez5srH7t_2bn7k-qKIODwhrSOPyayCs7HxeU1S8sBjhv9JJK8Cpt7GfVE6-QFOaZE0FuVNnxMebduh85H9Bg-7qg7npUOifKsb1imXXzfiBnKlyPqxk7Fr-CAoG3hVUrW7EmhPYAAottih4" width="216" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTB77QWYAEq8iU?format=jpg&name=medium" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTB77QWYAEq8iU?format=jpg&name=medium" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">8. <b>Milt Jackson: <i>The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson</i> </b>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0081227114961" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) <span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/5523280-Milt-Jackson-The-Ballad-Artistry-Of-Milt-Jackson" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdUPT24rH2DXxuKkXhNctia1BNe8F97W5K1tGVkuDObFo-o_eNkif9ep70LNNHtCYCwacEzOBHd7LLJfOhcs-tuXICk_HV0KDlj_Wz7P2wckK-r7wv_Iio46Vzqbt79AqOtkBiVxHn-5-8F7I8NP6jot3pKclbIc-5oY4tAifgIlL8R0SnMTchQdFt=s381" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="207" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdUPT24rH2DXxuKkXhNctia1BNe8F97W5K1tGVkuDObFo-o_eNkif9ep70LNNHtCYCwacEzOBHd7LLJfOhcs-tuXICk_HV0KDlj_Wz7P2wckK-r7wv_Iio46Vzqbt79AqOtkBiVxHn-5-8F7I8NP6jot3pKclbIc-5oY4tAifgIlL8R0SnMTchQdFt=s320" width="174" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4sOVncD-LantgG0dmDPllvaduHn0sztY9x5APMDgV7G2vXVoG9Fwoq2fkX-8qp9z_9iXLRylce0l9b2ElhhukVgT03l1w0ztPpyMEAcohUM-t-gQvpdFfPgtNX8nlu-ypgJUy74sfk07qBmN_HUld9_cXsiM3x6SNorRDJOSAm0BK_2_WebXyZxdv=s1425" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1416" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4sOVncD-LantgG0dmDPllvaduHn0sztY9x5APMDgV7G2vXVoG9Fwoq2fkX-8qp9z_9iXLRylce0l9b2ElhhukVgT03l1w0ztPpyMEAcohUM-t-gQvpdFfPgtNX8nlu-ypgJUy74sfk07qBmN_HUld9_cXsiM3x6SNorRDJOSAm0BK_2_WebXyZxdv=s320" width="318" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>9. <b>Miles Davis: </b><i><b>Sketches of Spain</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0886444505321" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) <span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2082711-Miles-Davis-Sketches-Of-Spain" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji2O3Bze2WvRhzu3bt5qGA2mpmnKfyg5wpazBi84bl0WYvB7oH4i3evLrhhlKShcHjE93hZzLyB2yeIO2Vlz8JqYHeSQltXYQgcZ8_sD2vBXheV6B62A42OvfClWFTLam6fdfULrEyvFrITlhh_KbBgGkTCdd-pIHWymxU17VJqIgGyzzbiMLwqhv5=s345" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="276" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEji2O3Bze2WvRhzu3bt5qGA2mpmnKfyg5wpazBi84bl0WYvB7oH4i3evLrhhlKShcHjE93hZzLyB2yeIO2Vlz8JqYHeSQltXYQgcZ8_sD2vBXheV6B62A42OvfClWFTLam6fdfULrEyvFrITlhh_KbBgGkTCdd-pIHWymxU17VJqIgGyzzbiMLwqhv5=w160-h200" width="160" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhc6VQU8LTAobdkvUKprz-F0yW69xwKWKt35IQFuG22_mJhyREX1D7DAJfrWHpjYg8h3WKcyHYq62GWLTK_ffZGPq3jVoC_STtP5-FkisS6_CaLMtAcPwuQ8k675F40piZbe863Obmi-ADgd6cUUAWTd2MqIoL3YdQEeVYpGYMPSL0LHioZHtL82zsVs/s1000/Sketches.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhc6VQU8LTAobdkvUKprz-F0yW69xwKWKt35IQFuG22_mJhyREX1D7DAJfrWHpjYg8h3WKcyHYq62GWLTK_ffZGPq3jVoC_STtP5-FkisS6_CaLMtAcPwuQ8k675F40piZbe863Obmi-ADgd6cUUAWTd2MqIoL3YdQEeVYpGYMPSL0LHioZHtL82zsVs/s320/Sketches.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">10. <b>Count Basie & His Orchestra: </b><b style="font-style: italic;">The Best of, Vol. 2 </b>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/5054196786663" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) <span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1952337-Count-Basie-His-Orchestra-The-Best-Of-Basie-Vol-2" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgprRAvBABcfI3HiRdlaefXBWrgksUWce5YFG2rBe-2KRb8fWm6i_-cRTSdbarnsbXiEEPoaRANY0ReV0OaUYxsWadSgMjsYaCc0Ca9ARspdrAwv0KdJgeFjuy5QVxcewAvpJk0HK-3LINuvmJsRJ2SBxNHXORw0oUmZAn7qNwu9wC0bxRQkliuN74s=s236" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="236" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgprRAvBABcfI3HiRdlaefXBWrgksUWce5YFG2rBe-2KRb8fWm6i_-cRTSdbarnsbXiEEPoaRANY0ReV0OaUYxsWadSgMjsYaCc0Ca9ARspdrAwv0KdJgeFjuy5QVxcewAvpJk0HK-3LINuvmJsRJ2SBxNHXORw0oUmZAn7qNwu9wC0bxRQkliuN74s" width="236" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1ldSUiy-wq5K1pv-sEvFNnTo595fy1PVDRe9hk8aSzfDaE9R2Mhu3ce8m3rF6rUiZYiYx--f-C548Wsa2VMAcir660TCpPtO_XFdRcWZ2edCXVaRem8bRML4apyXwpp4aadNPtquTyO5ySaXIuk8lMeG1rJIv3eGNvadBntd-_PgrlbPu3fdaz6Me=s400" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1ldSUiy-wq5K1pv-sEvFNnTo595fy1PVDRe9hk8aSzfDaE9R2Mhu3ce8m3rF6rUiZYiYx--f-C548Wsa2VMAcir660TCpPtO_XFdRcWZ2edCXVaRem8bRML4apyXwpp4aadNPtquTyO5ySaXIuk8lMeG1rJIv3eGNvadBntd-_PgrlbPu3fdaz6Me=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">11. <b>Miles Davis: <i>Kind of Blue</i></b> (<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/5099749522428" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1353040-Miles-Davis-Kind-Of-Blue" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgW-PzOXZpb1CG5UbY_Ln8MT2LRjLYj9sYAPQAEr8jKS_pzq4lYfnLMl1xevTbDTgRL6dwZODQr_861RDqrFMKUSlDxAOkk3sLhrCOUDcEdm7uOuvpZATvDqCxtX21g4UgXBId1Gj0ra7dUTuGuOk4mn09S1OLodPYwAkBNbYJnIsJX3Iz8UQwurjVZ=s354" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="269" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgW-PzOXZpb1CG5UbY_Ln8MT2LRjLYj9sYAPQAEr8jKS_pzq4lYfnLMl1xevTbDTgRL6dwZODQr_861RDqrFMKUSlDxAOkk3sLhrCOUDcEdm7uOuvpZATvDqCxtX21g4UgXBId1Gj0ra7dUTuGuOk4mn09S1OLodPYwAkBNbYJnIsJX3Iz8UQwurjVZ=w152-h200" width="152" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTC9sIWUAU8RTh?format=png&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="406" height="319" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTC9sIWUAU8RTh?format=png&name=small" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">12. <b>The Paul Horn Quintet: </b><i><b>Profile of a Jazz Musician</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/del8dao1xsrjc" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/6122561-The-Paul-Horn-Quintet-Profile-Of-A-Jazz-Musician" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFz3iz9AwdUax-GmCz24QETU87LJyTCEuLyN_0iXcmSUK6F6BzVHRY8P8XM2FsOPjRSfnLwi9mqLzw68ZwfJxUImA1CoB0lH1bWSegOj03jGn2UnSRc7XrXU5Hr7rxCWIHifbWRA9R6-dl2Xz7rHzBUKS_OY8pw_TF4Vz-iwa_jY9LDgmovX5zUiUp=s222" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="131" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFz3iz9AwdUax-GmCz24QETU87LJyTCEuLyN_0iXcmSUK6F6BzVHRY8P8XM2FsOPjRSfnLwi9mqLzw68ZwfJxUImA1CoB0lH1bWSegOj03jGn2UnSRc7XrXU5Hr7rxCWIHifbWRA9R6-dl2Xz7rHzBUKS_OY8pw_TF4Vz-iwa_jY9LDgmovX5zUiUp=w189-h320" width="189" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTELUQXIAQV7Oj?format=png&name=small" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="600" height="316" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJTELUQXIAQV7Oj?format=png&name=small" width="320" /></a></div></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">13. <b>The Modern Jazz Quartet </b><i><b>At Music Inn - Guest Artist: Sonny Rollins</b> </i>(<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0081227537869" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/12099108-The-Modern-Jazz-Quartet-Guest-Artist-Sonny-Rollins-The-Modern-Jazz-Quartet-At-Music-Inn-Volume-2" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWbcijafeHWWoTtHgeXPn-bmJWkm_R25HjiOcpUPKgZ4DRwitAMeM_XPcjvVcyjW9iPsKDnvvqf2egTXFKn2y13ZtSpFYPySXVZHopExhcRopx0PH7LuWbPiH_JVDxxht_AkbpoIMLswf68DZ2Yfl8vsxzaOHsJS--bf9AjXBCf4g2fbiS_Ewg0t8n=s401" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWbcijafeHWWoTtHgeXPn-bmJWkm_R25HjiOcpUPKgZ4DRwitAMeM_XPcjvVcyjW9iPsKDnvvqf2egTXFKn2y13ZtSpFYPySXVZHopExhcRopx0PH7LuWbPiH_JVDxxht_AkbpoIMLswf68DZ2Yfl8vsxzaOHsJS--bf9AjXBCf4g2fbiS_Ewg0t8n=s320" width="169" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfKkyqrscIhOFXLo7XNcbvEkHzoTNWJD6zvU3AZUYAGWNOBnvfF6CvDFtX-F4WOLg93H2ATOMU7A24iJ-tYRVPQ1Q_z6JSb7cBwSdS0Xq2NIo44tEe7tRFrri8qZ1V3hxIuV_sfDujUMxiKsE2-GhWiyHUat3O1fdpxYAfkAPyasNUjsDYrDiz4YhNYc/s600/MJQ%20Sonny%20Music%20inn2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfKkyqrscIhOFXLo7XNcbvEkHzoTNWJD6zvU3AZUYAGWNOBnvfF6CvDFtX-F4WOLg93H2ATOMU7A24iJ-tYRVPQ1Q_z6JSb7cBwSdS0Xq2NIo44tEe7tRFrri8qZ1V3hxIuV_sfDujUMxiKsE2-GhWiyHUat3O1fdpxYAfkAPyasNUjsDYrDiz4YhNYc/s320/MJQ%20Sonny%20Music%20inn2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">14. <b>Miles Davis: </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Miles Ahead </i>(originally released in mono in 1957, this is the "rechanneled" reissue of 1962) (<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0886446473062" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>, in mono, the music is exactly the same) </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/5745725-Miles-Davis-19-Miles-Ahead" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir-ysGfDY8QaJ8aeeQrzzNP4axdDuxym84QWti0jRoJmPdgSVPEMxoaTkFu4q7cSj5s3E_UwuCM6OkMJpNFR_bG7u0uUmK6QK5D8wQDOPUBQcqcKpVENpuLVV1DPyL6_w1-Ggyt-cO6w_-bf_kyocg6ghLbVpakqbpT75vKSl6ujj1QXkZFK0j1KXR=s318" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="289" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEir-ysGfDY8QaJ8aeeQrzzNP4axdDuxym84QWti0jRoJmPdgSVPEMxoaTkFu4q7cSj5s3E_UwuCM6OkMJpNFR_bG7u0uUmK6QK5D8wQDOPUBQcqcKpVENpuLVV1DPyL6_w1-Ggyt-cO6w_-bf_kyocg6ghLbVpakqbpT75vKSl6ujj1QXkZFK0j1KXR" width="289" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Miles Ahead</i> was originally recorded both in mono and stereo, but until 1996 the only master with the same music as in the original LP was the mono (it wasn't until 1996 when a stereo master was produced through the digital technology available at the time).</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxeGZkPJXIv8XS03BwBj0KjVTCZyYGkKpukDumIaRuHNQla1hOdFuhKpopzbeyBznieKsd2o_1nkD7Wd39wkVE4wNSVlDy1y_-ZOaaNefwZ0ezqBPGkf8RMeDoI9PZ0ATt2aa-QwWwBwi9Oot0a6wyBckN7_QjOkaHyoW1fPHY1ZQ5RdLUtePmJR8Z=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="600" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxeGZkPJXIv8XS03BwBj0KjVTCZyYGkKpukDumIaRuHNQla1hOdFuhKpopzbeyBznieKsd2o_1nkD7Wd39wkVE4wNSVlDy1y_-ZOaaNefwZ0ezqBPGkf8RMeDoI9PZ0ATt2aa-QwWwBwi9Oot0a6wyBckN7_QjOkaHyoW1fPHY1ZQ5RdLUtePmJR8Z=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">15. <b>Leadbelly: <i>A Memorial, Volume IV</i></b> </span><span style="text-align: left;">[<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2970665-Leadbelly-A-Leadbelly-Memorial-Volume-IV" target="_blank">Discogs</a>]</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKNvPgHfigg1Mvza85RubyorHheZbFMgDkm880v8TLJ98ik_ZE5DrZ3kuaC8tbDE0idgb_2lrJzwoYaC3HPdLcYelsEmTOpjQxfeBljstF2safG46b1J1mameL1hPWp6RN4Nvk0fKrd1Gm6YmQRdc67ZDD9dvyFz4eDXUG5MvXoDhDU9tjjaESWRGg=s319" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="214" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKNvPgHfigg1Mvza85RubyorHheZbFMgDkm880v8TLJ98ik_ZE5DrZ3kuaC8tbDE0idgb_2lrJzwoYaC3HPdLcYelsEmTOpjQxfeBljstF2safG46b1J1mameL1hPWp6RN4Nvk0fKrd1Gm6YmQRdc67ZDD9dvyFz4eDXUG5MvXoDhDU9tjjaESWRGg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwg9GdxVI0KWU3hEIXTuw8Hsd24yzzp04OIVJ4H2QtAuZEMiR8m3dz80O3CgjEKEZ2NDKD4jByDO0dyAOmoN0ihSVzgNNVBaeN29W3oxoVd494xdzcCEhRnhxK6nMgDzK--M0hZ3BB8uzGWjXX4yeeAiFgZr-WbLSZtY9fQ6YfZMv203jaahCBB38z=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwg9GdxVI0KWU3hEIXTuw8Hsd24yzzp04OIVJ4H2QtAuZEMiR8m3dz80O3CgjEKEZ2NDKD4jByDO0dyAOmoN0ihSVzgNNVBaeN29W3oxoVd494xdzcCEhRnhxK6nMgDzK--M0hZ3BB8uzGWjXX4yeeAiFgZr-WbLSZtY9fQ6YfZMv203jaahCBB38z=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-56677211133593930802022-11-16T19:24:00.006+00:002022-11-18T11:50:31.583+00:00Lennie Tristano Personal Recordings 1946-1970: The contrafacts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUqlL2UOhOJ0RtaHR6MC-VY-ZF9V07Hv2sPPzHiusadNjtLPh7dhDRai3BRAIFo5SzY09ycPuKz9yauJ6SVz4RN2r7-UqiOoDkKQUO1yacw6RWCpV7Ybs5s-ncRd5hEdJ1LlB-ED3UPaa_zz40xVJ96Vdt9FIYqotbGAqrttt8eNIDKxhFVsNybsD/s1024/Tristano%20Mosaic2%201024x1024.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUqlL2UOhOJ0RtaHR6MC-VY-ZF9V07Hv2sPPzHiusadNjtLPh7dhDRai3BRAIFo5SzY09ycPuKz9yauJ6SVz4RN2r7-UqiOoDkKQUO1yacw6RWCpV7Ybs5s-ncRd5hEdJ1LlB-ED3UPaa_zz40xVJ96Vdt9FIYqotbGAqrttt8eNIDKxhFVsNybsD/w400-h400/Tristano%20Mosaic2%201024x1024.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Mosaic/Dot Time MD6-272)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When it comes to repertoire, in jazz there's a common device known as "contrafacts", a name coined by James Patrick in 1975 to describe the replacement of the melody from a song by a different one while maintaining the underlying chord progression, as in, for instance, <a href="https://youtu.be/NkGf1GHAxhE" target="_blank">"How High the Moon"</a> becoming <a href="https://youtu.be/pMo4b4frJUM" target="_blank">"Ornithology"</a> (see this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_jazz_contrafacts" target="_blank">Wiki list</a> for more examples). Patrick's article (published on the Journal of Jazz Studies, vol. 2, no. 2) dealt with the compositions of Charlie Parker, who popularized this device, although it must be said that it was used in the Swing era: one example is <a href="https://youtu.be/b8eTC7Kd1l4" target="_blank">"A Smo-o-o-oth One"</a>, based on <a href="https://youtu.be/Yz5jsPQkPcY?t=30" target="_blank">"Love Is Just Around the Corner"</a>. Besides artistic considerations, note that this bit of trickery allowed the composer of the new melody to copyright the whole composition, and receive the appropriate royalties, even if the chord progression had been "borrowed".</div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pianist Lennie Tristano and his disciples were avid users of already established chord progressions for their improvisations and compositions, and the previously unissued recordings included in the <a href="https://www.mosaicrecords.com/product/lennie-tristano/" target="_blank">Mosaic/Dot Time set</a> released earlier this year are no exception.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the accompanying booklet, saxophonist Lenny Popkin, a disciple of Tristano, takes an impressionistic approach in his liner notes, in that he notes his impressions of the music, with hardly any detail on technical issues or context, and no reference to the harmonic frames the pianist and his musicians (the set features different groups) played on; that is, no contrafacts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I've done below is try and identify the original tunes these recordings are based on, either contrafacts or improvised solos without a previously composed melody (or "head"). There are three instances marked with a [*] where I'm not completely sure. Free improvisations or tunes where the original title has been kept are marked with a [—].</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There may be mistakes (I've made this by ear), so please do comment if you disagree on anything. The toughest were the piano solos on CD2, where tracks #2-15 come from the same sessions that brought us the 1962 Atlantic LP <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Tristano" target="_blank">The New Tristano</a></i>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more info on the set, including discography and some audio clips, see <a href="https://www.mosaicrecords.com/product/lennie-tristano/#tab-1665505641256-3" target="_blank">this</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b>LENNIE TRISTANO PERSONAL RECORDINGS 1946-1970</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 1</u></b> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 1. Rhythm [I Got Rhythm]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 2. Lennie's Song [Just You, Just Me]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 3. Surrender [I Surrender, Dear]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 4. Stream Line [What Is This Thing Called Love?]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 5. Day and Night [Night and Day]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 6. Rhapsody [I Can't Get Started]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 7. Three for Tea [Tea for Two]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. Streamin' [I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me]*</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 9. Depend on Me [You Can Depend on Me]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">10. Just Fine [Fine and Dandy]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">11. September Rain [September in the Rain]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">12. Mystery [What Is This Thing Called Love?]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">13. Under Your Spell [Don't Blame Me]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">14. Cosmology [Indiana]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">15. Restoration [Indiana]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 2</u> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 1. Spectrum —</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>Dated 1952, "Spectrum" predates "Descent into the Maelstrom" as a multitrack experiment. It is also significant that this was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, early in his career as an engineer.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 2. New Pennies [Pennies in minor/C Minor Complex]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>"Pennies" is "Pennies from Heaven". The beginning of Tristano's bass line after the intro is identical to the one on "C Minor Complex" from </i>The New Tristano<i>.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 3. Lennie's Blues [Blues]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 4. Dusk [It Could Happen to You] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 5. These Foolish Things — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 6. Tania's Dance [My Melancholy Baby]* </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>See also "Bud Line" (#2.11).</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 7. Call it Love [What Is This Thing Called Love?] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. C Minor Fantasy [Pennies in minor, C Minor Complex] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 9. No Foolin' [Foolin' Myself] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">10. When Your Lover Has Gone — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">11. Bud-Line [My Melancholy Baby]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>#2.11, like "Tania's Dance" (#2.6), sounds like an outtake of "Scene and Variations: Carol, Bud, Tania" from </i>The New Tristano<i>.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">12. Studio Time Medley [What Is This Thing Called Love?/__] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>If this is indeed a medley—as in the booklet, although the CD listing reads "Studio Time </i><u>Melody</u><i>"—I don't know what the title(s) for the other tune(s) is(are). </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">13. Palo Alto Days [Thanks a Million] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">14. Foolish Again [These Foolish Things] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">15. The Avenue [It Had to Be You] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">16. Thursday Suite: Sonnet [What Is This Thing Called Love?] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">17. Thursday Suite: Swing Time [Pennies in minor/C Minor Complex] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">18. Thursday Suite: Love Chords [Don't Blame Me]*</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>#2.18 is a hard one. The very beginning and elsewhere (3:20) sounds like a very slow and abstract "Don't Blame Me" and at the end he seems to quote/paraphrase "Stairway to the Stars" (3:30).</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 3</u> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 1. Live Free — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 2. Sound-Lee [Too Marvelous for Words] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 3. Lennie's Changes [I Never Knew]</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>In the liner notes, the chord changes of #3.3 and #3.5 are attributed to Tristano, but they hardly differ from "I Never Knew". Besides, the beginning is similar on both tracks, but at different tempos.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 4. Ice-Cream Konitz [Perdido] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 5. Fishin' Around [I Never Knew] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small;"><i>See #3.3.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 6. Band Excerpt [I Never Knew] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 7. You Go to My Head — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. Sax of a Kind [Fine and Dandy] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 4</u> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 1. Lennie's Lines [Foolin' Myself] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 2. My Melancholy Baby — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 3. Ocean's Deep [If I Had You] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 4. That Trading Feeling [That Old Feeling] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 5. You Go to My Head — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 6. London Blues [Limehouse Blues] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 7. There Will Never Be Another You —</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. Session Wave [I Never Knew] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 9. Movin' Along [Indiana] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">10. Trio Lines [You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">11. Lennie's Place [Out of Nowhere] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 5</u> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 1. Duo Days [Thanks a Million] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 2. Dream Sequence [You Stepped Out of a Dream] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 3. Melancholy Up [My Melancholy Baby] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 4. Forever Lines [You Can Depend On Me] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 5. Friends [Just Friends] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 6. You Go to My Head — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 7. I Should Care — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. Lennie's Groove [I Remember You] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"><b><u>CD 6</u> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">[1-7: free] — </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 8. Sonny's Variation [Out of Nowhere] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;"> 9. Swingin' at the Half Note [Indiana] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">10. Lennie's Dream [You Stepped Out of a Dream] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">11. Smilin' Groove [When You're Smiling] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">12. Mine [Will you still be mine?] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">13. Hudson Street [How Deep Is the Ocean?] </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">14. How Deep Is the Ocean? —</span></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-73007292366978594932022-10-05T19:51:00.011+01:002023-09-03T13:08:31.980+01:00On Oscar Pettiford's centennial<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4UUfsNDkF2kRQ4uUmsHPPgSX6WQ0tyxIKH-bNQiY8U7Gdt37bbcfjkKQ4-QzrAcOswjKfNYsUJrzv2fqwC6BKSwYfw4Qqrn6sz9BolirTLIgfjp_Y_m5wBzEBsKk-AmYlNG1p0CajZwKwZ6kj0elK16thXPiFIs_ScrXkVGTNxSzat4CMT1_SejBG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1334" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg4UUfsNDkF2kRQ4uUmsHPPgSX6WQ0tyxIKH-bNQiY8U7Gdt37bbcfjkKQ4-QzrAcOswjKfNYsUJrzv2fqwC6BKSwYfw4Qqrn6sz9BolirTLIgfjp_Y_m5wBzEBsKk-AmYlNG1p0CajZwKwZ6kj0elK16thXPiFIs_ScrXkVGTNxSzat4CMT1_SejBG=w400-h315" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oscar Pettiford in Newport, 1958<br />(screenshot from <i>Jazz on a Summer's Day</i>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While on April 22 we celebrated the 100th birthday of the very well-known Charles Mingus (<a href="https://www.elclubdejazz.com/round-jazz-int/726/" target="_blank">article</a>/<a href="https://www.elclubdejazz.com/programa/729/" target="_blank">podcast</a> in Spanish), on Friday, September 30th, we did the same for the other great bassist/leader of the era, even though not as well-remembered as Mingus, but, back in the day—he passed away in 1960—as respected and admired: Oscar Pettiford.</div><a name='more'></a>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus, the first salient point of Pettiford’s biography is that he was actually younger than Mingus, even though he may look otherwise to us, be it for musical reasons or others like his receding hairline or his early start on record: even if accidental, he made his first recording at age 17, at a jam session with Charlie Christian.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Christian would be an enormous influence on Pettiford, the first great melodic soloist on bass, except for the thunderbolt that was Jimmie Blanton (1918-1942). As Dizzy Gillespie put it, “Oscar was a great devotee of the guitarist Charlie Christian. He played a lot like Charlie Christian; his style was based on Charlie Christian’s. A lotta bass players, when they play a solo, are always thinking in terms of tonics … before he came to New York [Oscar] was [already] playing on the bass, like a soloist, like a trumpet, or any other melody instrument.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This facet of Pettiford’s playing is particularly noticeable with the cello, which he played tuning it like a bass and which, as his regular collaborator and pianist Dick Katz explained, “he also had this weird thing about souping up the cello with an amplifier and adding some kind of theremin-sounding tremolo to it”. Sound issues aside, he was a solid soloist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u622_EmRXv_kFbVQHl97o9vNgB0-EbCb1tBAEEeW2yi9WTzMQK_KqbzAB-mMvbKEJ57vsyvCP6p4Vl3u0PwfnK6nChnTLpC-0RPFo2sO8r51VsTk8Wm7rFEQ1hkGGTdDR-ejQF4tbWj7pXDD8tbdt0DH2Do4N6GSaB-MJ1O6Pp7GEqjzoNLQuAZy/s762/Pettiford%20bass%20mike%20small.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9u622_EmRXv_kFbVQHl97o9vNgB0-EbCb1tBAEEeW2yi9WTzMQK_KqbzAB-mMvbKEJ57vsyvCP6p4Vl3u0PwfnK6nChnTLpC-0RPFo2sO8r51VsTk8Wm7rFEQ1hkGGTdDR-ejQF4tbWj7pXDD8tbdt0DH2Do4N6GSaB-MJ1O6Pp7GEqjzoNLQuAZy/s320/Pettiford%20bass%20mike%20small.jpg" width="105" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Oscar</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Pettiford was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, of African-American and Cherokee descent on his father’s side, and Choctaw on his mother’s. Like other musical families of the era (like Lester Young’s, for instance) the Pettifords, who got to have eleven kids, performed as a band. Oscar began dancing and singing, he switched to piano aged 12, and to bass at 14. He was 17 when he jammed with Christian and tenor saxophonist Jerry Jerome, with Benny Goodman’s orchestra in Minneapolis, where the Pettifords were based at the time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, the first serious salvo from Pettiford was waxed during a session led by Coleman Hawkins on December 23, 1943, with his solo on <a href="https://youtu.be/szOX1Ihbnvw?t=119" target="_blank">“The Man I Love”</a>, where he can be heard breathing like a horn player would. Also at that time, he was part of a rare two-bassist team with Chubby Jackson in Charlie Barnet’s orchestra, from which he would go on to Duke Ellington’s—which left a deep mark in his musical outlook—and Woody Herman’s, where he would break one arm playing baseball and would have to take a break after which, according to his own account, got out playing better, not as fast as before, but with a better sound (this is the event Max Roach would mistakenly refer to, to explain Pettiford’s absence from the famous Massey Hall 1953 concert, where Mingus played).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ih8N8231XsS7hbhwLTrg7kXphQ6g5LF5psI7LymZE9-ML_DoddE6AksFO3I9hlC0FoEJXsE-6fhLeTA52Y7qJv-LGr4Hqclf3KS1pHwzn0wTq0F-jddfsJQWcH4fh9tm0uBbTthZ7vEXAGAWeDbBctrlXo3NW0sRUeGgFxADOAywr-3cvQvXZOvw/s1060/Pettiford%20Esquire%20concert%20SMALL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1056" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ih8N8231XsS7hbhwLTrg7kXphQ6g5LF5psI7LymZE9-ML_DoddE6AksFO3I9hlC0FoEJXsE-6fhLeTA52Y7qJv-LGr4Hqclf3KS1pHwzn0wTq0F-jddfsJQWcH4fh9tm0uBbTthZ7vEXAGAWeDbBctrlXo3NW0sRUeGgFxADOAywr-3cvQvXZOvw/w399-h400/Pettiford%20Esquire%20concert%20SMALL.jpg" width="399" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pettiford, aged 21, already among the greatest. <br />(The lower image was flipped in the original.)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was at this time, in the mid-forties, when Pettiford became renowned in the jazz scene, helped by the fact that he was favoured by both the previous generation (see images above) and the next, together with Dizzy Gillespie and the “modern” recordings waxed by Coleman Hawkins and Boyd Raeburn’s orchestra. Together with Dizzy, in 1944 he put together the first Bebop combo, with Max Roach on drums, George Wallington on piano and Don Byas on tenor sax (their idea was to have Charlie Parker as the other horn, but they couldn’t get hold of him).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">About Pettiford’s importance in this band, Ira Gitler, the main historian of that movement, tells that the idea of having both horns playing in unison—an essential Bebop feature—was actually Pettiford’s; as for the band’s dynamics, pianist Billy Taylor, who would be replaced by Wallington, tells how during a gig the band played the tune <a href="https://youtu.be/j51rYIOwOQo" target="_blank">“Bebop”</a> at top speed, and Dizzy didn’t nod at Pettiford for a solo. When they finished, Pettiford went to Dizzy and, angrily, asked him why. Dizzy replied that he thought that the tempo was to fast for a bass solo, only for Pettiford to protest: “Well, you played it! If you can play it, I can play it!”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA7QZA4EVXJonStsPtk4I9rVTLbeoTtmUE3nWOxCJEwx0JcI_3NkZMYM6YB2Ik1sNWtI0058AR_OCkCYGtU7f8ojDvnAzQq9gvq8HJlrfovupaB2Z9_T5ncYD1pYYhGFWgTqkvDONxOBOfLKu2ENvFfM-kg85w9-NNypXqSTDoJQBgFrrKyWsunPlI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="703" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhA7QZA4EVXJonStsPtk4I9rVTLbeoTtmUE3nWOxCJEwx0JcI_3NkZMYM6YB2Ik1sNWtI0058AR_OCkCYGtU7f8ojDvnAzQq9gvq8HJlrfovupaB2Z9_T5ncYD1pYYhGFWgTqkvDONxOBOfLKu2ENvFfM-kg85w9-NNypXqSTDoJQBgFrrKyWsunPlI=w400-h253" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max Roach, Don Byas, Oscar Pettiford,<br />George Wallington, Dizzy Gillespie. 1944.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Pettiford would leave the group in early 1945, after Dizzy accused him of being a “prima donna”, being as he was the main bassist on the scene at the time. The highlights of the remaining of the decade was, besides his sojourns in Duke Ellington’s and Woody Herman’s orchestras, his own short-lived big band, which left one instrumental recording, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfbYUP9jOqk" target="_blank">“Something for You”</a> (later known as “Max Is Making Wax” or “Chance It”).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>As relevant as he became in the 1940s, it was in the following decade when he reached his peak as a musician beyond his instrument. He left <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140226125518/http://themenschmidt.de/opsongs.htm" target="_blank">over 60 compositions</a>, among the better-known ones <a href="https://youtu.be/s5EwGijmqKc" target="_blank">“Bohemia After Dark”</a> (which he claimed to be the <a href="https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-story-of-so-what.html" target="_blank">inspiration for Miles Davis’s “So What”</a>), “Blues in the Closet” and “Tricotism”, or the today forgotten, the title doesn’t help, <span>“</span><span style="text-align: center;">The Gentle Art of Love</span><span>”</span>. Posterity is fickle, and several reasons, like the fact that the labels he recorded for (namely Bethlehem and ABC-Paramount) have been poorly served by reissues, his musical approach and his trip to Europe in 1958—which would be final—, has clouded a substantial legacy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pettiford was prolific on record: he was a great bass player, with hardly any rivals in New York. As always, labels and producers had their preferred musicians, and Pettiford had a close working relationship with the recently deceased <a href="https://londonjazznews.com/2022/08/29/creed-taylor-1929-2022/" target="_blank">Creed Taylor</a>, a producer especially loyal to certain musicians: Kai Winding, for instance, recorded as a leader for all the labels Taylor produced at (Bethlehem, ABC-Paramount/Impulse, Verve, A&M and CTI). Pettiford was keeping the same track when he left for Europe. Who knows if he’d have recorded with Taylor again, but, if he had, he would have been better known today.</div><div><br /></div><div>About this musical approach in the fifties, Pettiford, for his age and long-standing relevance, was one of the main references in a movement derived from Miles Davis’s nonet, which included people like Kenny Clarke, Tadd Dameron, the early Quincy Jones, Gigi Gryce, Lucky Thompson (these three arranged for Pettiford), Art Farmer, Benny Golson... African-Americans who opted for a softer music than Hard-Bop and whose place in the canon is smaller than would have been expected back then (or much smaller, in the case of someone close to them musically and hugely popular at the time, like Don Elliott), and certainly smaller than that of like-minded acts like Gerry Mulligan, the Modern Jazz Quartet or even the whole Third Stream movement.</div><div><br /></div><div>The lack of relevance of this kind of jazz today cannot be explained in strictly musical terms. It doesn’t help that rock’n’roll was rising, but among the extramusical factors, besides the irregular reissues of this music, this may be explained by both Clarke’s and Pettiford’s move to Europe, the latter’s death, Lucky Thompson’s partial, and Gigi Gryce’s total, disappearance from the scene, Tadd Dameron’s erratic career or Quincy Jones’s change of tack.</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div>Due to one or several of these reasons, when Pettiford is talked about, attention is regularly focused on the forties. However, his whole career covers 21 years, between 1939 and 1960, which, in terms of recordings, would amount to over four days of straight listening (see links at the end). And despite the emphasis on those early years, his track record in the fifties is overwhelming: besides his own recordings as a leader, he’s on records by Miles Davis (<i>Volume 1</i>, <i>The Musings</i>), Sonny Rollins (<i>The Freedom Suite</i>), Kenny Dorham (<i>Afro-Cuban</i>, <i>Jazz Contrasts</i>), Monk (<i>Plays Duke Ellington</i> among others), Gigi Gryce (<i>Nica’s Tempo</i>), Teddy Charles’s <i>3 for Ellington</i>, Clark Terry’s and Helen Merrill’s on EmArcy (Merrill would call him back), <i>Lee Konitz with Warne Marsh</i>... and <a href="https://www.discogs.com/artist/255767-Oscar-Pettiford?limit=500&type=Credits&subtype=Instruments-Performance&filter_anv=0&page=1" target="_blank">very many others</a>. That said, it is particularly astonishing to hear the standard he kept in 1956 (<a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/11238091" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>).</div><div><br /></div><div>From that year we have recordings with guitar players, singers, pianists, small groups fronted by one horn, big bands… Kenny Burrell’s debut on Blue Note, an unissued (at the time) session with Tal Farlow (with Pettiford as a soloist on cello), records with pianists like Monk (bits of <i>The Unique</i> and <i>Brilliant Corners</i>), with Phineas Newborn, Jr., Ray Charles, Hank Jones (Charlie Smith’s trio) and Toshiko Akiyoshi, Thad Jones’s <i>Detroit-New York Junction</i>, Milt Jackson’s <i>Ballads and Blues</i>, Gil Mellé’s <i>Patterns in Jazz</i>, Nat Pierce’s Basie-like big band and Boyd Raeburn’s more commercial one in of this last recordings (nothing to do with his more adventurous efforts from the forties, sadly), Helen Merrill’s <i>Dream of You</i>, several sessions for Chris Connor on Atlantic…</div><div><br /></div><div>That quiet approach I mentioned above is represented by records like accordionist Mat Matthews’s for the Dawn label (<i>The Gentle Art of Love</i> and, particularly, <i>The Modern Art of Jazz</i>, watch out for this <a href="https://youtu.be/RjYhqE6oBL0" target="_blank">duet of accordion and cello</a>), the namesake <i>The Manhattan Jazz Septette</i> and, above all, the extraordinary and practically forgotten <i><a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/478555-Tommy-Talbert-Bix-Duke-Fats" target="_blank">Bix Duke Fats</a></i> by arranger and pianist Tom Talbert, and old acquaintance of Pettiford’s from their earlier days in Minneapolis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Punchier are the tracks from a couple of sessions that shouldn’t be overlooked (for our own sake), <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/8615598-Lionel-Hampton-And-His-All-Stars-Complete-Jazztone-Recordings" target="_blank">Lionel Hampton’</a>s as the leader of an all-star group for the Jazztone label, and the recently released <i>jam sessions</i> with pianist <a href="https://www.joecastrojazz.com/discography" target="_blank">Joe Castro</a> (February 4 and 5, listen to <a href="https://youtu.be/EpP91REkJy4?t=425" target="_blank">this</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/WD0pPJllpHY?t=469" target="_blank">this</a>).</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6JWZ9umefeLIkVgcDi70HvwWTpcARecEq2LGypbHwp08n7y-1JIZF6YxiaICnPMA_BhC4D4LGouR0EiRs6WM7oFVOlwHjbRDCzXYOzIBEKLdQ9DhD1L9y8IRKs0XtPAccD8GVgLX6OorAqn-SJZ-rsemE7l73RGrfkB3i_d3CiTyj_8wydV0OwwDJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1849" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6JWZ9umefeLIkVgcDi70HvwWTpcARecEq2LGypbHwp08n7y-1JIZF6YxiaICnPMA_BhC4D4LGouR0EiRs6WM7oFVOlwHjbRDCzXYOzIBEKLdQ9DhD1L9y8IRKs0XtPAccD8GVgLX6OorAqn-SJZ-rsemE7l73RGrfkB3i_d3CiTyj_8wydV0OwwDJ=w400-h136" width="540" /></a></div><br />But the masterworks from that year, and perhaps his whole career, are the three LPs he did for ABC-Paramount, with Creed Taylor as producer: two with Lucky Thompson (both volumes of <i>Lucky Thompson Featuring Oscar Pettiford</i>), recorded in January and December, and the first of two orchestral records for the label, <i>In Hi-Fi </i>(<a href="https://youtu.be/HEiCFXbC6Ok" target="_blank">YouTube</a>; compiled <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/4597961-The-Oscar-Pettiford-Orchestra-Deep-Passion" target="_blank">in one CD</a>), where he features a modified big band (fewer brass, but including French horn and harp) and arranged mostly by Gigi Gryce or Lucky Thompson.</div><div><br /></div><div>The two LPs he did with Thompson (reissued together on <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/4537206-Lucky-Thompson-Tricotism" target="_blank">this CD</a>), are two lost jewels of 1950s jazz. Both are shared in halfs by a quintet with trombone (Jimmy Cleveland, another kindred spirit) and a trio, with Skeeter Best on guitar, which is just sublime (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQbHEf6s96CvF2OEoAflpqp" target="_blank">YouTube</a>).</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/7da4WkFqE2g" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oscar Pettiford & Attila Zoller: <span style="text-align: justify;">“</span>The Gentle Art of Love<span style="text-align: justify;">” (June 15, 1959)</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Links:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oscar Pettiford's <b>complete recordings</b> on Qobuz:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/8819085" target="_blank">1939-1954</a></li><li><a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/8861612" target="_blank">1955-1960</a></li><li><a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/11238091" target="_blank">1956</a></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The great Oscar Pettiford website is the one put together by the late <b>Hans-Joachim Schmidt</b>. Although slightly out of date, it’s still essential. It’s now hosted at <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140225181429/http://themenschmidt.de/don.htm" target="_blank">Archive.org</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.crj-online.org/v14/CRJ-BrownDameron1953.php" target="_blank">Essay by <b>Joan Mar Sauqué</b></a> about the meeting, in the Summer of 1953, of Tadd Dameron, Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Quincy Jones and Benny Golson, among others.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Noal Cohen</b> has put together several definitive discographies (including those of <a href="https://attictoys.com/gigi-gryce-basheer-qusim/" target="_blank">Gigi Gryce</a> and <a href="https://attictoys.com/lucky-thompson/" target="_blank">Lucky Thompson</a>) in his website. He also has a series of essays about this school of jazz, under the title <i><a href="https://attictoys.com/the-birth-of-the-cool-legacy-part-1-miles-davis/" target="_blank">“The Birth of the Cool Legacy”</a></i>.</div></div><p></p>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-52084706828285359362022-02-04T08:00:00.013+00:002024-01-18T17:50:00.388+00:00Miles Davis: February 4th, 1958—in pictures<p style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday, February 4th, 1958, at Columbia Records' studio on Manhattan's 30th St., a session was booked for the afternoon. It lasted from 2 to 6.30 pm, with Harry "Chappy" Chapman, an in-house veteran going back to the early 1940s, manning the control room. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The musicians and producer involved may have not known it at the time, but this was to be the first of two momentous occasions: this session and the following one, on March 4, were to be the last produced for Miles Davis by George Avakian, who had put him in the map by signing him to Columbia, the label he ended up staying with for thirty years, between 1955 and 1985. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">These sessions on February and March 4 would also be the last ones by Davis's "first quintet", with Red Garland on piano and "Philly" Joe Jones on drums. Together, they'd form <i>Milestones</i>, a, er, milestone in Miles Davis's career, which may have seemed unsurpassable at the time. Not for long, though: his next small group album would be <i>Kind of Blue</i>.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4A_IQDPUYT69e44EdeWZTnGmFktzwDQQK0lGSAZb9M5o7YwX_sSjCeTQ9Bw-5kp06CX9HL8PQEdHGxDENuSPIvLsR9HvzPW9Trxrpt3KYWVJBwWi2n8hRf59T53sOlS0Pn053eDkadKCRU1VP72DxplZ6GcgGPsm0x4H39ry7T-A_aW5eP0ZLXTsg=s1530" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="1530" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4A_IQDPUYT69e44EdeWZTnGmFktzwDQQK0lGSAZb9M5o7YwX_sSjCeTQ9Bw-5kp06CX9HL8PQEdHGxDENuSPIvLsR9HvzPW9Trxrpt3KYWVJBwWi2n8hRf59T53sOlS0Pn053eDkadKCRU1VP72DxplZ6GcgGPsm0x4H39ry7T-A_aW5eP0ZLXTsg=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of <i>Milestones. </i>Photograph by Dennis Stock.</td></tr></tbody></table><a name='more'></a><p style="text-align: justify;">The music publicly available from this session includes two takes each of "Two Bass Hit", "Straight, No Chaser", and "Milestones" (originally titled "Miles"), plus one take of the trio track "Billy Boy". A lot has been written about this, how "Two Bass Hit" and "Straight, No Chaser" go back to earlier days of bebop ebullience, respectively from Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, how "Billy Boy" is a direct lift from Ahmad Jamal, younger than Davis and yet a strong model for him at the time, and how "Milestones"—with Miles on flugelhorn instead of trumpet—is an early incursion in modal playing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Besides all that, and lending an attentive ear to the sparkling drumming by "Philly" Joe Jones (that snare drum, the rimshots on the fourth beat, the whole "Billy Boy"), I would only add that the slightly slower tempo of the alternate take of "Milestones" seems to give it a deeper pocket—on that take, note also how Davis syncopates his notes <a href="https://youtu.be/tklC0CJot94?t=24" target="_blank">from 0:24</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">However you listen—you have the whole session on Qobuz, <a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/8163145" target="_blank">here</a>—use headphones or proper speakers so you don't miss the bass.</p><p style="text-align: center;">~</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A perhaps less known aspect of that recording session is that famed Magnum photographer <a href="https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/dennis-stock/" target="_blank">Dennis Stock</a> shot it. Columbia had their own in-house photographer, the great Don Hunstein, but it seems that for this record—he also shot the cover—Columbia hired Stock. Given the unchanged clothes and that Davis plays flugelhorn on one of the pictures, it must have been February 4th.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The following are all the images I've been able to rescue from the internet. Enjoy!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBn6GPKn1Z4PGpX0tOvvPCdAD7SdlLG4YVWh6y7wh0jP6x5WqqqIa1DWnANTScouFzB_p_VcLwsXwVbKlvYJFKnm6Plmc-IzCExxMtUxjwBlI0WmFGmlwwlcUIJ5j60d3vbm55tuPB9OkwU0AxfBup8t6s_8fpFSTy4X7J70vShAR2C6y6jRGPLOtn=s1476" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1401" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBn6GPKn1Z4PGpX0tOvvPCdAD7SdlLG4YVWh6y7wh0jP6x5WqqqIa1DWnANTScouFzB_p_VcLwsXwVbKlvYJFKnm6Plmc-IzCExxMtUxjwBlI0WmFGmlwwlcUIJ5j60d3vbm55tuPB9OkwU0AxfBup8t6s_8fpFSTy4X7J70vShAR2C6y6jRGPLOtn=w380-h400" width="380" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Philly" Joe Jones.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDkjzozjJI98a5Ldmk9aCvIapAqCQU1gaKXHG-KI6xiimRuJ1X4FjSbli3EEETCN37-m5Mw3staUHf1WfeO-pqjQKN95mwbozOWdavJ5QbcCYu0nZ_MblevkIkYXxMfdwz1N7g39n2Q8BmD2cS6Wv-LjmMrhDzAuVP3uzwGJkuLohUYEd3AsaJLnFS=s1200" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="912" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhDkjzozjJI98a5Ldmk9aCvIapAqCQU1gaKXHG-KI6xiimRuJ1X4FjSbli3EEETCN37-m5Mw3staUHf1WfeO-pqjQKN95mwbozOWdavJ5QbcCYu0nZ_MblevkIkYXxMfdwz1N7g39n2Q8BmD2cS6Wv-LjmMrhDzAuVP3uzwGJkuLohUYEd3AsaJLnFS=w304-h400" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Chambers, "Philly" Joe Jones, <br />Miles Davis, Red Garland.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyugh8S65-3AUsceNwd2smVLhS3ClDm4qt99whzgWaS9z9zJtfph_Sp2HR099MSUR664W7dDnUR4KSlEPgninIRFUMNFXsF7oFR0MT-JMkUlOmPxuN1DIJff_IGDZ2L1IK6NcEsNPizj21nNh8y2Hwl5dXZyfHGa-X79-XjcRbUbitG8OtGaQyAUiw=s699" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="455" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyugh8S65-3AUsceNwd2smVLhS3ClDm4qt99whzgWaS9z9zJtfph_Sp2HR099MSUR664W7dDnUR4KSlEPgninIRFUMNFXsF7oFR0MT-JMkUlOmPxuN1DIJff_IGDZ2L1IK6NcEsNPizj21nNh8y2Hwl5dXZyfHGa-X79-XjcRbUbitG8OtGaQyAUiw=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles Davis, Red Garland. Garland, upset with Miles,<br />would not finish the March 4 session.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ5BNcqqK8EggJJsJp3tl82fkegKEoAbd76qUFwIhRFiGJGrDnZHGeFssLnWjSw6GAx6yGaH4pOHjplmoyI0EQACzT87uQHHvJcDA_C2pF4BmkGKWLMNJz4bDvBUJ7qFVJbC6l2Nd6aDPP9RDw77jN20WEOnLvQ3YHNYPVFGtjzPsVBIaYJ2c-s0LT=s698" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="461" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ5BNcqqK8EggJJsJp3tl82fkegKEoAbd76qUFwIhRFiGJGrDnZHGeFssLnWjSw6GAx6yGaH4pOHjplmoyI0EQACzT87uQHHvJcDA_C2pF4BmkGKWLMNJz4bDvBUJ7qFVJbC6l2Nd6aDPP9RDw77jN20WEOnLvQ3YHNYPVFGtjzPsVBIaYJ2c-s0LT=w264-h400" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Chambers, age 22.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh56DyfWALqJq0KRctsuWpFEZBS_MbeR2YNKsA7d-DheyswXVWnVwNftazoFknFPvAzDTNhMH0XwkdbLRo2mG35oJzgxSBlUvVxhqh7Dix_FDoZR0Hm17hvUXVz38HttWIW6J4u81lO3fkej7AmUzAjxvrAykvsly2neiydP4QH61MRHiPq3TAbh-5i=s960" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="960" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh56DyfWALqJq0KRctsuWpFEZBS_MbeR2YNKsA7d-DheyswXVWnVwNftazoFknFPvAzDTNhMH0XwkdbLRo2mG35oJzgxSBlUvVxhqh7Dix_FDoZR0Hm17hvUXVz38HttWIW6J4u81lO3fkej7AmUzAjxvrAykvsly2neiydP4QH61MRHiPq3TAbh-5i=w400-h224" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Miles Davis,<br />"Cannonball" Adderley (jacket still on), John Coltrane.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5kt-LpxI8opfvVOFn6Zwk8XbTUTfh8ku4NiQPbFN3-GKjVbMj_7IZc0N9uWxdrIR-TWs6jJSn1hRXFf4xQhfP5Tz2kpXCxvFQauNHipk52Nh95QrMxM5LbUZ0W1AyoARoBhSbnydW0tNoLFRO1iNErIYmv-O5j0OnHccm2lNptIqwstERTcoBaPwn=s1505" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1505" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5kt-LpxI8opfvVOFn6Zwk8XbTUTfh8ku4NiQPbFN3-GKjVbMj_7IZc0N9uWxdrIR-TWs6jJSn1hRXFf4xQhfP5Tz2kpXCxvFQauNHipk52Nh95QrMxM5LbUZ0W1AyoARoBhSbnydW0tNoLFRO1iNErIYmv-O5j0OnHccm2lNptIqwstERTcoBaPwn=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Garland, Miles Davis, Paul Chambers, "Cannonball" Adderley.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLFbcN356A_DpSf1VhCIDvo5QrfKEGVUXdh3msYzf2tEt_2sd1enUmuB0ZkEzotz_rAqUxco_QgoEFetuDUYFZ2YRKcFY023RO3Iiq6TUyL4MICAfdMmNtV9d9AOPl1sWouLOYs69LvwbEgkyrGFxmLOXfFoqF-8UfZDyVscAAZZzZ-E0-pZ9slhy2=s600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="600" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLFbcN356A_DpSf1VhCIDvo5QrfKEGVUXdh3msYzf2tEt_2sd1enUmuB0ZkEzotz_rAqUxco_QgoEFetuDUYFZ2YRKcFY023RO3Iiq6TUyL4MICAfdMmNtV9d9AOPl1sWouLOYs69LvwbEgkyrGFxmLOXfFoqF-8UfZDyVscAAZZzZ-E0-pZ9slhy2=w400-h346" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Garland, Miles Davis, Paul Chambers, "Cannonball" Adderley</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxhAR5sGkbzBgesXnVgzXa5WpBNPneUuXfhGPeLKQr2kfbdylTGK0S_9ZLaYuDwSJK0n7GaXuvORtwyA-emRIsnLGlnz5Y-QL-84J7vpCg7nEUDtD5rJa1RcgzoOwSr4Ac-o3zbvwhRCjFUMhVUq3Qv4ycNTVtC7pg5Z5xAI1bDz664KNyTyudSK_C=s695" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxhAR5sGkbzBgesXnVgzXa5WpBNPneUuXfhGPeLKQr2kfbdylTGK0S_9ZLaYuDwSJK0n7GaXuvORtwyA-emRIsnLGlnz5Y-QL-84J7vpCg7nEUDtD5rJa1RcgzoOwSr4Ac-o3zbvwhRCjFUMhVUq3Qv4ycNTVtC7pg5Z5xAI1bDz664KNyTyudSK_C=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhw7bYwV60JjNGpQ5mYwGTHHMGcy12VxwQAhLpHrN5oRkQzReFg43q5NY5eFcnbfdhPcT3LZN2A5iKQfRIB_IhwxKFv_8TQaHwngHk6PCTwPFqLSHj1zROIi9BGHoUJRNTwSDOPqEcUPZ6aSmk6KBCkZpfU9DbJRrK_QD5yUdktKEfeW-xUdYtlnYE8=s1176" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="1176" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhw7bYwV60JjNGpQ5mYwGTHHMGcy12VxwQAhLpHrN5oRkQzReFg43q5NY5eFcnbfdhPcT3LZN2A5iKQfRIB_IhwxKFv_8TQaHwngHk6PCTwPFqLSHj1zROIi9BGHoUJRNTwSDOPqEcUPZ6aSmk6KBCkZpfU9DbJRrK_QD5yUdktKEfeW-xUdYtlnYE8=w400-h264" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles Davis (on flugel, possibly playing "Milestones"),<br />"Cannonball" Adderley, John Coltrane.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW8JiMImw09Ops5aap7PoNKHK8OUCuft-5TkXBZxKAyC4Bv9R9ord8j1UaT101Fwlh5Xk76yITGDjoYq0lNXegUeFDft1MRguaTzxmUKLyaUTb41QAU9Dfs6dHbUTq6E8rfMf1vm3p4rHw5yNJqLqSETtVaZzyXgzXXvgo84Y9IJzIZPj2M6rOIiXI=s717" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW8JiMImw09Ops5aap7PoNKHK8OUCuft-5TkXBZxKAyC4Bv9R9ord8j1UaT101Fwlh5Xk76yITGDjoYq0lNXegUeFDft1MRguaTzxmUKLyaUTb41QAU9Dfs6dHbUTq6E8rfMf1vm3p4rHw5yNJqLqSETtVaZzyXgzXXvgo84Y9IJzIZPj2M6rOIiXI=w270-h400" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles Davis (on flugel, possibly playing "Milestones"),<br />"Cannonball" Adderley, John Coltrane.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpl-DuGF6fZyBd96Sy_Ol6KAPn_3jJqKyKHmpDDDoudaugTaVQQ1XHnS3HlVZILL4T1ONAxRfQpnxEt1XT0isbrcSQ_chJrNMvfqUc0Bc3qlCK_tsFtNjnBoR0o9gJmmGIBIqb7W0Byf96qHfoOudLwIMSRIoibATditv6U8iF1EekcFZr4eAuO1o-=s692" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpl-DuGF6fZyBd96Sy_Ol6KAPn_3jJqKyKHmpDDDoudaugTaVQQ1XHnS3HlVZILL4T1ONAxRfQpnxEt1XT0isbrcSQ_chJrNMvfqUc0Bc3qlCK_tsFtNjnBoR0o9gJmmGIBIqb7W0Byf96qHfoOudLwIMSRIoibATditv6U8iF1EekcFZr4eAuO1o-=w264-h400" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg19XVzdX3OQ0LHteTmGWVuESDBDoGOT2u5mC86R6kPIfrXO-iviJXTayM3e8Ts7BE1QYgCt_4Fjl1JOz1-EYSMfiiv2aTATKD1Yh8gG7OKYc-vbgJ8scHQZIOYUlNOoPFXlSjZ2K0L79jv-o-0OkCBYWI_BaGBFKqVzF13AGP8TRJj4CyqjyGrBZ7J=s1027" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="1027" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg19XVzdX3OQ0LHteTmGWVuESDBDoGOT2u5mC86R6kPIfrXO-iviJXTayM3e8Ts7BE1QYgCt_4Fjl1JOz1-EYSMfiiv2aTATKD1Yh8gG7OKYc-vbgJ8scHQZIOYUlNOoPFXlSjZ2K0L79jv-o-0OkCBYWI_BaGBFKqVzF13AGP8TRJj4CyqjyGrBZ7J=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, "Philly" Joe Jones.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjy3umfx6nxnVLgwY5UY3neG-rh-LiTJyU62orHqNpvOIzAx5w9GpaXkO6rVGyWwFyYe__ShniEKsQe2GHpLjCh_yl0Ji3UzUGz58rvYI4zStSut_wGWuHx0gWsGVYCNFtvotFRjQ1QDkyhYgPAB04R1IRrGyFGcV-iGhXMTipUCAhoj2k8Qk7eN9Ev=s1049" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="1049" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjy3umfx6nxnVLgwY5UY3neG-rh-LiTJyU62orHqNpvOIzAx5w9GpaXkO6rVGyWwFyYe__ShniEKsQe2GHpLjCh_yl0Ji3UzUGz58rvYI4zStSut_wGWuHx0gWsGVYCNFtvotFRjQ1QDkyhYgPAB04R1IRrGyFGcV-iGhXMTipUCAhoj2k8Qk7eN9Ev=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, "Philly" Joe Jones.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_I-oWQFeuhvGU0xnhxrFPD3KdMJx3ZIqSP97G8_mveyrje5ZvfAM1Q6o2AvZSR48fNyNkjtRFiEjUbeGbKDXuEPFpIkddXYfiW1iyPtpzF2GCZxToOwfixq-OMXahZ-h9f55KHIyZmyQqcs-gH4HUhQKTq_0cJbxlyDQw8BvzMrMrIfVaolf3bIhD=s698" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="462" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_I-oWQFeuhvGU0xnhxrFPD3KdMJx3ZIqSP97G8_mveyrje5ZvfAM1Q6o2AvZSR48fNyNkjtRFiEjUbeGbKDXuEPFpIkddXYfiW1iyPtpzF2GCZxToOwfixq-OMXahZ-h9f55KHIyZmyQqcs-gH4HUhQKTq_0cJbxlyDQw8BvzMrMrIfVaolf3bIhD=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkLx8OS5Glf9qGC5ZhqE8LCh7OUYfTAkMJZt5NTwSPFCn5YdfEjU0ZZepDWf31ZVaZXU086PChky9sA10Xn9hVvmkuc0t_LzhGV9pYYvfk-6HOnY2FXfJR5zbh89JSmLLoFbgT46MvmDFxCrIOoEiUD1-13NS8Ja1KOiMTD2H98_vQWkqNo5XHMXyTvc/s699/JohnColtrane%20STOCK%20MARK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="454" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkLx8OS5Glf9qGC5ZhqE8LCh7OUYfTAkMJZt5NTwSPFCn5YdfEjU0ZZepDWf31ZVaZXU086PChky9sA10Xn9hVvmkuc0t_LzhGV9pYYvfk-6HOnY2FXfJR5zbh89JSmLLoFbgT46MvmDFxCrIOoEiUD1-13NS8Ja1KOiMTD2H98_vQWkqNo5XHMXyTvc/w260-h400/JohnColtrane%20STOCK%20MARK.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane</td></tr></tbody></table><div><div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwgV-SUI8Ri5jizkfeazkCIw2_Hv6_lnH9n0dH4rLOG_UiXUqdimie9GbI65uofwvdqcPtwcurCl-6SjTED2lUUewEICNkg2Su-GH0o4Crksxt2CgqRmL-YZOp67ucQRSWi0ZNmGoJH0TRV2h93pPKEuwn4ppvxGq8OO_y__VkTlLS-4SzzWTY9o8t=s695" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwgV-SUI8Ri5jizkfeazkCIw2_Hv6_lnH9n0dH4rLOG_UiXUqdimie9GbI65uofwvdqcPtwcurCl-6SjTED2lUUewEICNkg2Su-GH0o4Crksxt2CgqRmL-YZOp67ucQRSWi0ZNmGoJH0TRV2h93pPKEuwn4ppvxGq8OO_y__VkTlLS-4SzzWTY9o8t=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, George Avakian, Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLOq_-xUvzgRlDn0cFbDMMNqQvO6hfdY6OBliB5SbTclltInbeWt6uIDczLGkuakBQlI61Spw4v4v-SVUGZmUIFpT-IQnU13hS858BaiNcL_lfdPZzGqVgkFXWl4IMg-fQ78rHVIEhAEbmCScgRCxOVDMawdSlKpWH8mPGwXYPCZ6XYdDPIrHV5nNG=s698" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="458" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLOq_-xUvzgRlDn0cFbDMMNqQvO6hfdY6OBliB5SbTclltInbeWt6uIDczLGkuakBQlI61Spw4v4v-SVUGZmUIFpT-IQnU13hS858BaiNcL_lfdPZzGqVgkFXWl4IMg-fQ78rHVIEhAEbmCScgRCxOVDMawdSlKpWH8mPGwXYPCZ6XYdDPIrHV5nNG=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBxua9qg2t3WEd4MpqOr65m7VqkovUUdy07XtiqoWfU9HH3Kb_w5tgBdui4PIy5mUFoHD8CXhtt7q52T8WCE68XhO1Fx1qEusBivNR7oHiscxT5egESbPd6-aj7Y-P_ZJZHjs1Qeb2X7eih7NbLYfeEC7ahqoYxayUuCiz86L1Znk6HLeBMPlIIngr=s1054" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="1054" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBxua9qg2t3WEd4MpqOr65m7VqkovUUdy07XtiqoWfU9HH3Kb_w5tgBdui4PIy5mUFoHD8CXhtt7q52T8WCE68XhO1Fx1qEusBivNR7oHiscxT5egESbPd6-aj7Y-P_ZJZHjs1Qeb2X7eih7NbLYfeEC7ahqoYxayUuCiz86L1Znk6HLeBMPlIIngr=w400-h263" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3htMrJ7nOqFzuPb8cZrh05QBtCr9Iji1o-Gb9Fx5yjYiCXr3EzXQ8-yq3_h_TmJ2GQdI_h9X8HoN0tgNee1WC6RM1A0mq-hdrK7IYUEER9tis7JgSeuoKff2EcDsDyv8PfocXIoRQJgbaibnVnnxIfKItMyreb3C5I7jI5eEHqCuAqc9BRxQlqnwt=s697" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="452" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi3htMrJ7nOqFzuPb8cZrh05QBtCr9Iji1o-Gb9Fx5yjYiCXr3EzXQ8-yq3_h_TmJ2GQdI_h9X8HoN0tgNee1WC6RM1A0mq-hdrK7IYUEER9tis7JgSeuoKff2EcDsDyv8PfocXIoRQJgbaibnVnnxIfKItMyreb3C5I7jI5eEHqCuAqc9BRxQlqnwt=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Coltrane, Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhd0JHvA-ZmEA2VCb-NeXWKzUjvcYS5_NDgX7BnmogW4V4R0gh7Z_uOcl21gj_XdaUDnp3NreFyeA-W28Qd-wHKI1yjmDR2Z9ZZ-aSbz0O6faW98dfIwpWKLdvGkqqEa_6wPsETOBL2hLeglSbAg_FnxFLuqEZSvvVssoLdSCWxUBnBeTk57m4TgXR=s1874" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1874" data-original-width="1250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhd0JHvA-ZmEA2VCb-NeXWKzUjvcYS5_NDgX7BnmogW4V4R0gh7Z_uOcl21gj_XdaUDnp3NreFyeA-W28Qd-wHKI1yjmDR2Z9ZZ-aSbz0O6faW98dfIwpWKLdvGkqqEa_6wPsETOBL2hLeglSbAg_FnxFLuqEZSvvVssoLdSCWxUBnBeTk57m4TgXR=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjb-cR5FxvuIJycccG2S6rwzsRh79xqFpT7rjOX3IjI0H-ixa7MnpMbacNS2f65A4spJpAeRbmI8srAXCUMcWOm9Sr4Gz2DcpwLB3swPHHXaWQdR5NAX36Crushu-ixEhNcw0uds9p64P9Od-6ent9wSIL3Q1UEDL_2VpsmIiEX69FzIFGtvluYWw/s1536/Pensive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1036" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJjb-cR5FxvuIJycccG2S6rwzsRh79xqFpT7rjOX3IjI0H-ixa7MnpMbacNS2f65A4spJpAeRbmI8srAXCUMcWOm9Sr4Gz2DcpwLB3swPHHXaWQdR5NAX36Crushu-ixEhNcw0uds9p64P9Od-6ent9wSIL3Q1UEDL_2VpsmIiEX69FzIFGtvluYWw/w270-h400/Pensive.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miles Davis</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXS9xTBxkRcLWUU_Yzf9h5X9d8HWUPHi0EYQ5SKH6BIoQ7-daO5HSSmtYEQcWL4vieXmAP6m-tYufbxlfRyNrzBlQk_WxIv1r_MVDGZov50oP_S6TpLJUVv26V33mg5NRwPMeyR3W6Q2q46meoPtNBMzxgVnsMuzSjWQG5S10qsTtJ-R5NP20fx7KZ=s953" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="953" data-original-width="626" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXS9xTBxkRcLWUU_Yzf9h5X9d8HWUPHi0EYQ5SKH6BIoQ7-daO5HSSmtYEQcWL4vieXmAP6m-tYufbxlfRyNrzBlQk_WxIv1r_MVDGZov50oP_S6TpLJUVv26V33mg5NRwPMeyR3W6Q2q46meoPtNBMzxgVnsMuzSjWQG5S10qsTtJ-R5NP20fx7KZ=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk4MkYq4GiSN5d9wl_rhxOHJ4HVPSWPBf-jZ-o15YsAeqW5KsatO_G4nIEtaNUIAzXwRhb_1Vz8kVQFL9TbgQJlvzBnPBZ9qpPza3xJaVeEehuPtW4uJ0N8-iyTWR5-GQhwuKSU0i8V8O3QKYVmxQ9qo7ub-_BlR23bemtbWisX36NQyJOGvAE9Geb=s696" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="461" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjk4MkYq4GiSN5d9wl_rhxOHJ4HVPSWPBf-jZ-o15YsAeqW5KsatO_G4nIEtaNUIAzXwRhb_1Vz8kVQFL9TbgQJlvzBnPBZ9qpPza3xJaVeEehuPtW4uJ0N8-iyTWR5-GQhwuKSU0i8V8O3QKYVmxQ9qo7ub-_BlR23bemtbWisX36NQyJOGvAE9Geb=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Miles Davis.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><br /></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-43773577392869547862021-12-20T09:00:00.000+00:002021-12-20T09:00:00.163+00:00Betty Glamann's Christmas album (and why discography matters)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj92i1nW_ixvleF8U7DXZqrNc9zFgVNQ58IDwRe_qru9gF0CaOgfdYOdEF6pKANuJWkhQdhOG9sd3STzLxQIMHKifLi-8WQ6UH5fZMP7J7drbQjiDb7pJY7SVSqqFuCJxXVzwSYxIR5uexyHeAnlcd3hcV193ixNXr4-mKD9R5vlIEdQSt_PXbH_rpM=s355" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="192" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj92i1nW_ixvleF8U7DXZqrNc9zFgVNQ58IDwRe_qru9gF0CaOgfdYOdEF6pKANuJWkhQdhOG9sd3STzLxQIMHKifLi-8WQ6UH5fZMP7J7drbQjiDb7pJY7SVSqqFuCJxXVzwSYxIR5uexyHeAnlcd3hcV193ixNXr4-mKD9R5vlIEdQSt_PXbH_rpM=s320" width="173" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 1950s, when record equipment improved noticeably at the same time as engineers were becoming very experienced and cash-flow in American record companies allowed for whatever experiment came to producers' minds, harp had a brief fling with jazz. In the second half of the decade you could find the names of Dorothy Ashby, Betty Glamann or Janet Putnam on the cover of their own albums—at least Ashby's and Glamann's—and in numerous sessions, mostly in the studio but sometimes in clubs too, like Glamann in <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/10315796-Oscar-Pettiford-Nonet-Big-Band-Sextet-New-York-City-1955-1958" target="_blank">Oscar Pettiford's band in 1957 and 58</a>.</div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A precocious talent, Glamann was already performing with a symphony orchestra twice a week on NBC radio when she was 13. From there, she played in the Baltimore symphony, then joined the eccentric but demanding Spike Jones and appeared on Garry Moore and Steve Allen's TV shows. She can also be heard on jazz records, like Duke Ellington's <i>A Drum Is a Woman</i>, Kenny Dorham's <i>Jazz Contrasts</i>, Michel Legrand's <i>Legrand Jazz</i> and in Oscar Pettiford and his Orchestra's <i>Vol. 2</i> (reissued as <i>Deep Passion</i>).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtNyC2CfD6izNEaxaQcBjax8yQ1q7bazNoWI7S5K17XfVYMNTj0TG-gAFjgOna4R5uqxbLIouusk4jf_WYpcimG950RT_Ah5CYy9jMFHLyyAMasiDhcxRBmYUKF4ET9ynJlD3s9SOYlYdE5Smhk6nhXMW6X0rHPVMYuL4OZvkzAHXaw4M9wwzjkkVH=s1227" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="1227" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtNyC2CfD6izNEaxaQcBjax8yQ1q7bazNoWI7S5K17XfVYMNTj0TG-gAFjgOna4R5uqxbLIouusk4jf_WYpcimG950RT_Ah5CYy9jMFHLyyAMasiDhcxRBmYUKF4ET9ynJlD3s9SOYlYdE5Smhk6nhXMW6X0rHPVMYuL4OZvkzAHXaw4M9wwzjkkVH=w400-h203" width="540" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">In the mid-1950s, she recorded two albums, <i><a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/1447453-The-Smith-Glamann-Quintet-Poinciana" target="_blank">Poinciana</a></i> for Bethlehem, and <i><a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/4867705-Betty-Glamann-Swinging-On-A-Harp" target="_blank">Swinging on a Harp</a> </i>for Mercury, as the co-leader of a small group with bassist Rufus Smith, featuring top-rank sidemen like Barry Galbraith, Osie Johnson or Eddie Costa. And some time around 1967 she did a Christmas record for the obscure Vicson Music Company. </p><a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkXOLhklJJCMvSgiv6jrTvGm2_wdpoM3iYhlJ8HIk3bvj2AvWzXS_VeD4BiqJH6UYfzEKL9Pzz_dXHGBmiBqoHVx_rMmxeW9lAIh_URTJgx7Nri4iyVJy38ikbzHSQLC57Kd9Z8-9Cem2UIR27wpfjnOQy2tTtVgEpepJJQXs6IsvEfH89UWAapb7V=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkXOLhklJJCMvSgiv6jrTvGm2_wdpoM3iYhlJ8HIk3bvj2AvWzXS_VeD4BiqJH6UYfzEKL9Pzz_dXHGBmiBqoHVx_rMmxeW9lAIh_URTJgx7Nri4iyVJy38ikbzHSQLC57Kd9Z8-9Cem2UIR27wpfjnOQy2tTtVgEpepJJQXs6IsvEfH89UWAapb7V=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">This is an unashamedly Christmas record, as classic as it gets. There are fitting echoes of the "Waltz of the Flowers" from Tchaikovsky's <i>Nutcracker</i> ballet here and there, there are a couple of decent piano solos, some interesting chords (although one sounds like a rare clam) on "Rudolph, the Red-Nose Reindeer". A few tunes walk with swinging rhythm section, but in one of them, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" embraces a cringey late-1960s "groovy" beat more akin to Austin Powers than Santa, followed by a redeeming bluesy piano solo. On the opposite end, the arranger gets boppish with a nod to Coleman Hawkins's "Spotlite" on "We Wish You a Merry Christmas".</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, if you want some well-executed yet non intrusive Christmas songs, this is for you. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now, for the personnel. The cover states clearly that the record was written and conducted by noted arranger and Atlantic records producer Arif Mardin. As for the band, the bottom of the back sleeve reads...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvONZL5P5-AMM2TrwHBZDRF3AzDbImz87k-WcqMkxntQ-YgPH3JLAq1bb9yQjDWGT7BJTS2TlCxnrBTC27iDOsCAzoY8hTP28TmGk2kpOxJfiDlzCxqxLTAwTK3bRmZUbZBr_7LCzBvw2Kgj1FkVrCeNN04seH7eoPCn9Y3nnMisYzQAhZnNUrVCRk=s676" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="676" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvONZL5P5-AMM2TrwHBZDRF3AzDbImz87k-WcqMkxntQ-YgPH3JLAq1bb9yQjDWGT7BJTS2TlCxnrBTC27iDOsCAzoY8hTP28TmGk2kpOxJfiDlzCxqxLTAwTK3bRmZUbZBr_7LCzBvw2Kgj1FkVrCeNN04seH7eoPCn9Y3nnMisYzQAhZnNUrVCRk=w640-h157" width="540" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">that is, your regular fare of studio musicians, four of them linked to the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Dodgion, Jones, Buffington and Davis. Buffington had also played with Glamann in Oscar Pettiford's band in the mid-50s, and Hank Jones and Sommer were extremely busy in the studios, like Romeo Penque, a fixture of the Miles Davis/Gil Evans records for Columbia. As for cellist Joseph Tekula, he can be found in several albums in the Gunther Schuller/John Lewis/Orchestra USA orbit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is what it is, but you could hardly find a better band to play it.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">You can find <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/15600379-Betty-Glamann-Christmas-Fantasy" target="_blank">Betty Glamann's <i>Christmas Fantasy</i></a> (originally on the Vicson label, VI-11967) on all streaming services. Here it is on <a href="https://open.qobuz.com/album/0886788265875" target="_blank">Qobuz</a>.</p>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-68804622666797661272021-07-24T14:28:00.013+01:002021-09-08T19:13:05.424+01:00Dr. Billy Taylor and "The Subject is Jazz"<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1DFFOim4sWqE9tvIQ01PTPoaulGkza3vI9YWSTImb3ryhHrJYWRYarcyTFBeJmD88bkcTUb0siqTFlpdXmWhoahXzJboyFh7ZxOBM8KbxKx7F-A3nidNs6L3AqpTZsff8wqqTmoSAtc/s694/Dr+Billy+Taylor.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="580" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA1DFFOim4sWqE9tvIQ01PTPoaulGkza3vI9YWSTImb3ryhHrJYWRYarcyTFBeJmD88bkcTUb0siqTFlpdXmWhoahXzJboyFh7ZxOBM8KbxKx7F-A3nidNs6L3AqpTZsff8wqqTmoSAtc/w167-h200/Dr+Billy+Taylor.jpg" width="167" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Billy Taylor (<a href="http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2021/jul/08/jazzmobile-summerfest-birdland-reopens/" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Dr. Billy Taylor (1921-2010), whose centennial we celebrate today, debuted on record in March 1945, right when the Parker/Gillespie revolutions was exploding. He had become a professional musician earlier, with his ears attuned to what he called "pre-Bop" (what Don Byas, Budd Johnson, Charlie Christian or Clyde Hart played). </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">His first professional gig was under Ben Webster at the Three Deuces in 1944. From then on, he played, literally, for everybody; in 1946 he toured Europe with Don Redman and stayed in Paris for a while. In 1951, he became house pianist at Birdland, and soon after he started his own trio.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That's just the beginning of his vast credentials as a player — he was a renowned player for all his long life, a foundation as solid as anyone's for his other musical endeavours. </p><a name='more'></a><p style="text-align: justify;">Taylor was also hugely influential on our perception of jazz today: on the one hand, he was a firm defender of the idea of jazz as "America's classical music" and, leading by example, of the dignity of this music. On the other, in strictly musical terms, he had a university degree in music, not common for a jazz musician of his generation, and he was an early codifier of jazz (he wrote a manual on how to play bebop in the 1940s, as well as several piano instruction books), which implied defining the boundaries and aesthetic of the music.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thus, although he was a great pianist, his most significant work was probably as an indefatigable educator and promoter of jazz, with the <a href="http://www.jazzmobile.org/" target="_blank">Jazzmobile</a>, which he started in 1964, possibly his best and longest-lasting achievement. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before that, in 1958, he was the engine behind the show "The Subject Is Jazz", which Taylor himself considered years later, in <a href="https://iupress.org/9780253009098/the-jazz-life-of-dr-billy-taylor/" target="_blank">his autobiography</a>, "dry, stoic, and overtly academic" (it was, indeed, part of NBC's "Education Programming Project"). Be it as it may, it is still a great window to the past, and a unique opportunity to watch a few great players in action (most of the footage of jazz from those years comes from European public TV stations).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Luckily, the Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning programme has uploaded six complete shows (out of 13). Watch out for show #12, "Jazz Today", which includes short chats about various aspects of the musician's life in 1958 with Tony Scott, Ed Thigpen, Doc Severinsen, Mundell Lowe and, especially, Jimmy Cleveland about freelancing.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here they are</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">PERFORMANCE</i> (filmed on April 2, 1958)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/UexWRuvJfwQ" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With Doc Severinsen, trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Tony Scott, clarinet, baritone sax; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Billy Taylor, piano; Eddie Safranski, bass; Osie Johnson, drums.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">SWING</i> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iCF43TqlSx8" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With <span face="sans-serif">Carl Pool, </span><span face="sans-serif">Doc Severinsen and </span><span face="sans-serif">Buck Clayton</span>, trumpets; Benny Morton and Jimmy Cleveland, trombones; Ben Webster, Tony Scott, Sid Cooper and Paul Quinichette, saxes; Billy Taylor, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums; plus guest John Hammond.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">BLUES</i> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/9lj08c-ojxc" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With Buck Clayton, trumpet; Vic Dickenson, trombone; Paul Quinichette, tenor sax; Billy Taylor, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums; plus guests Jimmy Rushing, Leonard Feather.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE</i> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/aW78Vwde3Hc" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Bobby Jaspar, tenor sax, flute; Rolf Kühn, clarinet; Billy Taylor, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums; plus guest Toshiko Akiyoshi on piano, and an interview with Willis Conover.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">12. </span><i style="font-weight: bold;">JAZZ TODAY</i> (filmed on June 11, 1958)</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/l6eU__wh4pk" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With the Billy Taylor trio (Ed Thigpen on drums and Earl May on bass), plus Tony Scott on clarinet and baritone sax, Doc Severinsen on trumpet, Mundell Lowe on guitar, and Jimmy Cleveland on trombone.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">13. <i>THE FUTURE OF JAZZ</i></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QgZ8tzRY-i4" title="YouTube video player" width="540"></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With <br />* Doc Severinsen, trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Tony Scott, clarinet; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Billy Taylor, piano; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.<br />* Art Farmer, trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Gene Quill, alto sax; Barry Galbraith, guitar; Bill Evans, piano; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.<br />Interviews with Robert Pace and George Russell.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><i>Bonus!</i></u></b>: excerpts from the shows </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>7.</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/nCS_MxgRXe4" target="_blank"><i>Bebop</i></a> (filmed on May 7, 1958; with Nat Adderley, cornet; Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Cannonball Adderley, alto sax; Billy Taylor, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>8a.</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/Jt8WBQq8MVQ" target="_blank"><i>Cool: </i>"Godchild"</a> <br /><b>8b.</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/Jt8WBQq8MVQ" target="_blank"><i>Cool: </i>"Half Nelson" (piano solo) <i>+ </i>"Ladybird"</a> <br /><b>8c.</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/QQMSPEi6WPc" target="_blank"><i>Cool: </i>"Subconscious-Lee"</a> <br />(filmed on May 14, 1958; with Don Elliott, trumpet, vibraphone, and mellophone; Lee Konitz, alto sax; Warne Marsh, tenor sax; Billy Taylor, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Eddie Safranski, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums). </p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-54082069453753928752021-05-08T00:26:00.008+01:002022-04-17T22:15:01.188+01:00Bud Powell with the 'Birth of the Cool' nonet<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXp6nyVKxpHvlHiuKV1cn2TTj2FaFEOzC8E6Js8cWK1Kig0vUtCeYUI_YGZ-Z6hMin7rjp2iGTgcQ9CNPh4WoP9g7c6JTT1khsIHfC_5-Bk1dJ9acHLfy_Vuc6eh2Xtd6HuhN4DEWmNw/s700/Budo+FINAL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="675" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXp6nyVKxpHvlHiuKV1cn2TTj2FaFEOzC8E6Js8cWK1Kig0vUtCeYUI_YGZ-Z6hMin7rjp2iGTgcQ9CNPh4WoP9g7c6JTT1khsIHfC_5-Bk1dJ9acHLfy_Vuc6eh2Xtd6HuhN4DEWmNw/w386-h400/Budo+FINAL.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bud Powell at Birdland</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One the many discoveries made by Peter Pullman in his <a href="http://wailthelifeofbudpowell.com/" target="_blank">definitive biography of Bud Powell</a> is that the pianist sat in once with Miles Davis's short-lived Nonet, of "Birth of the Cool" fame. </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We know the regular pianist was John Lewis, who also contributed a number of arrangements ("Move", "Budo", "Why Do I Love You") and compositions ("Rouge", "S'il Vous Plaît") and is present in all the recordings except the first studio session, where he was replaced by Al Haig. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Pullman, Powell's sitting in took place some time in 1950 at Birdland. In his book (pp. 138-139) he quotes extensively from budding pianist Sy Johnson, then just about 20 years old and living in Connecticut, for whom the trip to New York City to see and listen the Miles Davis Nonet (and the Lennie Tristano Sextet) must have been a special occasion, even though it wasn't remembered by any of the musicians Johnson spoke to years later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Johnson tells a detailed tale of the evening, from Bud Powell's triumphant and acclaimed interventions, to Billie Holiday's cat-calling Miles while he was on stage or Gary Cooper and James Stewart being turned away at the door because the place was packed. Interestingly, he also remembered that</div><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;">Herman [Leonard] was over there [trying] to take pictures. He was leaning over the railing, getting closeup pictures of Bud with his Rolleiflex. Bud was all sweaty.</span></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">The photograph above is one of Leonard classics from the era. What I had not realized myself until know, is that it must come from the time when Powell sat in with the Nonet. Bear in mind that the the resolution of the images I have is not good enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all, who else is in the picture?</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmvcl_I4-R2g3xqFOS6Au23PL98KfOG_HW-6_Ykx_OusSgpesrPTLkY-roX81nCCo3Dswl6wjX73oG06e_fqsf9-QPItx59Xvjy2FJpiWj5t8Hd6WDXa2CkGdIswWJhezTwBfp_s-Y5s/s173/Budo+HL02+%25285%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="173" data-original-width="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibmvcl_I4-R2g3xqFOS6Au23PL98KfOG_HW-6_Ykx_OusSgpesrPTLkY-roX81nCCo3Dswl6wjX73oG06e_fqsf9-QPItx59Xvjy2FJpiWj5t8Hd6WDXa2CkGdIswWJhezTwBfp_s-Y5s/s0/Budo+HL02+%25285%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Blakey</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A young Art Blakey right behind Powell. Pullman's biography gives Max Roach as the drummer, but I don't think this is too important. Johnson might have misremembered, or Blakey might have sat in at some point. Interestingly, although the drummers on the recordings are Max Roach and Kenny Clarke, at some point Blakey was mentioned as having recorded with the Nonet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">More significant is...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeUoOj1l_Jqcs-8vBx_SM25O47NN7ubQ5QAdWzkgUTQXxaqgkfwkRfMi0qyryq_z-6nqoYNgdKbpcV9Pi2E1aVji67oz64K6eqmhN8Tq1aTNX7RPvbZafogUXNhaxh9-LMD-jSABiLjI/s203/Budo+HL02+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeUoOj1l_Jqcs-8vBx_SM25O47NN7ubQ5QAdWzkgUTQXxaqgkfwkRfMi0qyryq_z-6nqoYNgdKbpcV9Pi2E1aVji67oz64K6eqmhN8Tq1aTNX7RPvbZafogUXNhaxh9-LMD-jSABiLjI/s0/Budo+HL02+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Barber</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><div style="text-align: justify;">That is Bill Barber on tuba. He was on all the <i>Birth of the Cool</i> recordings, he was a member of the Claude Thornhill orchestra, and he would go on to play on <i>all</i> the recording sessions Miles and Gil Evans did together for Columbia, from <i>Miles Ahead</i> to <i>Quiet Nights</i>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a one-off gig with a band playing a particular and heavily arranged repertoire may be the explanation for the amount of paper on Powell's piano. The resolution of my pictures is not good enough, but a proper hi-res scan of the negative would undoubtedly show the chords and notes on the papers.</div><div><span style="text-align: justify;"><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CwMUzbA_Poy6UDsVM4h9Dm_0fkupCLUrVtFpnZws0RLxXxQTGQkdNsFOpHoCBNj4UWVLhHddyAdy7X1gMUnvdkWwBDb0xIEsmniZ7BdptSEmW_OUwyJcyeQFRWsKH44Zq11agdEIq-k/s2030/Budo+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="2030" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CwMUzbA_Poy6UDsVM4h9Dm_0fkupCLUrVtFpnZws0RLxXxQTGQkdNsFOpHoCBNj4UWVLhHddyAdy7X1gMUnvdkWwBDb0xIEsmniZ7BdptSEmW_OUwyJcyeQFRWsKH44Zq11agdEIq-k/s320/Budo+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoUHy4TeQJ7CqLYtTMf7aUMe158YTVTvoD2xrAi3GjIyaKPn8sESH6tTGd7JxZjCTHd2gbnFtMWibAKtpgwBv5qj6IX3F92OERs6epBAYV9qojdxdJfr4yR02A3xNmBNVJXpFNeX-ojk/s623/Budo+papeles+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="465" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkoUHy4TeQJ7CqLYtTMf7aUMe158YTVTvoD2xrAi3GjIyaKPn8sESH6tTGd7JxZjCTHd2gbnFtMWibAKtpgwBv5qj6IX3F92OERs6epBAYV9qojdxdJfr4yR02A3xNmBNVJXpFNeX-ojk/s320/Budo+papeles+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">In sum: that picture of Bud Powell was most likely taken at his one-off gig with Miles Davis's Nonet, but confirmation, and proof that Powell performed with the Nonet, will only come when we can read the music properly.</div></div><br /></div><div><i style="font-weight: bold;">Update (May 8, 2021):</i> When I said that my images weren't good enough to make out what was on the piano, I should have said "not good enough <i>for me</i>", because they are good enough for eagle-eyed drummer and scholar George Schuller, whose father, among very many other things, played French horn in Miles Davis's Nonet. George has seen this poorly pictures, and (drum roll), what Powell has in front of him is the original piano part for "Jeru":</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEG9QSnAgtmNumdaiJ9tQ7_9U6KkQd82Xd1cBErxASvT4i5exJRbYTv_kMXiBG6t7KXjHDCc5GRCIasw1lX0nMSPYphUYB0HbZPyMmrJIbN56GIMUrc_7QLyVPzygAqH-m5Ps5bTD-6M4/s2059/Budo+JERU+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="2059" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEG9QSnAgtmNumdaiJ9tQ7_9U6KkQd82Xd1cBErxASvT4i5exJRbYTv_kMXiBG6t7KXjHDCc5GRCIasw1lX0nMSPYphUYB0HbZPyMmrJIbN56GIMUrc_7QLyVPzygAqH-m5Ps5bTD-6M4/w400-h196/Budo+JERU+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Click on the image to enlarge it)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>And he adds that he can also see part of the first page of George Wallington's "Godchild":</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYUFRTeJxRQsV5UIzOPlGdR9E78Lf0qOdjWBV8EWDV2FDB_FzXwrcJCSBeKiijGMadnBlndqGO_gR0qVc-XMXLe69jFIR84pV6fAg13NMa3-09MwTbTR4xcyuN_bdQBXhYaGDsjj7eYs/s2047/Budo+GODCHILD+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="2047" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYUFRTeJxRQsV5UIzOPlGdR9E78Lf0qOdjWBV8EWDV2FDB_FzXwrcJCSBeKiijGMadnBlndqGO_gR0qVc-XMXLe69jFIR84pV6fAg13NMa3-09MwTbTR4xcyuN_bdQBXhYaGDsjj7eYs/w400-h196/Budo+GODCHILD+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Click on the image to enlarge it)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The images supplied by George are from the original parts currently housed at the Library of Congress. Yes, children, those pieces of paper in front of Powell <i>still exist</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is proof that the Bud Powell not only played with the Nonet, but also that he was photographed. I do hope, though, that George Schuller and other capable scholars will be able to get hold of high resolution excerpts of those pictures in order to study them.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">PS: Two more pictures from the same night (source: <a href="http://hermanleonard.com/index.php/gallery/1/1/20/Print" target="_blank">Herman Leonard's website)</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMkrqJva-HE5CczAL1_AdjHor0hIWviREW4Q3fEwDiV5an60pOFf66d8GuCu761xnBqbsbqBNfia_Q3nqqT_yD7yxfYv0ACvyPUa2PoXV3ufNulmuilZD9sAtTHrrjxXFSqaOjkZRsvs/s540/Budo+HL01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMkrqJva-HE5CczAL1_AdjHor0hIWviREW4Q3fEwDiV5an60pOFf66d8GuCu761xnBqbsbqBNfia_Q3nqqT_yD7yxfYv0ACvyPUa2PoXV3ufNulmuilZD9sAtTHrrjxXFSqaOjkZRsvs/s320/Budo+HL01.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bud was all sweaty..."</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWPxssPVrSUp983b6X0WreB4RzegyJBF_p_iaKsD5lW8C_1zKb6aRsJ35rjQ9oJqOuZUqfgOGtAr6Z8c5i9r9SlHRwZ5bVnUjiYZ5BnmC1iZgEIvnlEkSXlXddzRi-cMig5-gg6yI8qI/s540/Budo+HL10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="530" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikWPxssPVrSUp983b6X0WreB4RzegyJBF_p_iaKsD5lW8C_1zKb6aRsJ35rjQ9oJqOuZUqfgOGtAr6Z8c5i9r9SlHRwZ5bVnUjiYZ5BnmC1iZgEIvnlEkSXlXddzRi-cMig5-gg6yI8qI/s320/Budo+HL10.jpg" /></a></div></span></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-42222764920656422692020-10-28T09:43:00.003+00:002021-10-28T10:45:30.351+01:0080 years ago today: the Benny Goodman-Count Basie Octet<p style="text-align: justify;">By the autumn of 1940, Benny Goodman had undergone his first back surgery and was already on the mend. He had put his orchestra on hold for the summer, with a few men on retainer, like electric guitar wonder Charlie Christian, who'd taken the opportunity to visit family and friends back in Oklahoma, his first chance since he'd hit the big time the previous summer.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">While still a popular bandleader, Goodman had somewhat lost some of his spark after the departure of some key men in his big band, namely Harry James and Gene Krupa, and with his current band on hold, rumours were rife. A big one was a possible merger with Count Basie, himself having some problems with his booking agency. Besides mutual admiration and being signed to the same label, a common thread to both bands was producer John Hammond, who had championed both and in 1942 became Goodman's brother-in-law.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiBliy2tQOE26uDh_6kdI2_iPfyjTQnPYfKXNBICGPgn2_bj4e-Go-qMRAYSzZgygD8W5_cdz22fFhWJV2I3kynFYg6KvTuIxqT5_dAzzapfqByfPfrrzZwqaYfgDkjxWu8GA0OgNESU/s689/CC+BG+Basie+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="689" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaiBliy2tQOE26uDh_6kdI2_iPfyjTQnPYfKXNBICGPgn2_bj4e-Go-qMRAYSzZgygD8W5_cdz22fFhWJV2I3kynFYg6KvTuIxqT5_dAzzapfqByfPfrrzZwqaYfgDkjxWu8GA0OgNESU/w400-h330/CC+BG+Basie+1.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian sitting in with the Count Basie Orchestra, <br />Apollo Theatre, Harlem, October 24, 1940 <a href="http://soloflight.cc/photos.htm" target="_blank">(source)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><a name='more'></a><p style="text-align: justify;">It was after Hammond's divorce some time in the 1970s, when his estranged wife sold some acetates to a dealer, which happened to contain a hitherto unknown session by an octet of Basie and his men with Goodman and Christian.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhud7yzpj-mFRF8S3mObtC3DCRw5irD_luLQZYXC9_ExEsAYLSvBUCIzrq7jf2ycUdi6JBAGXXDK0oV_YpIFnvmYCZ-orGAkVnVKpvivbUQs6NgXKn9ONAqRKNNDDSVvppzffbQMvxD-cc/s2026/CC+BG+Basie+3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="2026" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhud7yzpj-mFRF8S3mObtC3DCRw5irD_luLQZYXC9_ExEsAYLSvBUCIzrq7jf2ycUdi6JBAGXXDK0oV_YpIFnvmYCZ-orGAkVnVKpvivbUQs6NgXKn9ONAqRKNNDDSVvppzffbQMvxD-cc/w400-h294/CC+BG+Basie+3.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Jo Jones, Freddie Green, Walter Page, Lester Young, Buck Clayton, <br />Benny Goodman, Charlie Christian, Count Basie, <br />John Hammond. October 28, 1940 <a href="http://soloflight.cc/photos.htm" target="_blank">(source)</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">All these men had known each other for a while: Young said he had jammed with Christian when the guitarist was about 16, around 1932-3, and Goodman, through Hammond, had already included some Basie-ites in his recordings. Coming as they all—but Goodman—did from the midwest, getting together in New York must have been special, although probably not as much on this occasion as in their first public reunion, at Carnegie Hall for the second <i>From Spirituals to Swing</i> concert the previous December. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">About the two guitar players in the session, not a common occurrence, we also know that Christian and Green were good friends, and while the electric star encouraged Basie's rhythm man to follow his steps, repeated sabotage from Green's "mates" in the band discouraged him from following that path. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The music speaks for itself, but note the extra "oomph" Jo Jones lends Lester Young on his solos; how Christian's joins Freddie Green on rhythm duties; on the presumably impromptu "Ad-Lib Blues", how Lester Young resolves his unconventional <i>a capella</i> bits with the standard blues phrases he plays over the rhythm section; still on "Ad-Lib...", how Young shadows Christian towards the end of his solo on that tune; on "Wholly Cats", another blues, how Goodman corrects Basie at the beginning and how he compels Christian to take the first solo, which he attacks on overdrive from the top, followed by Goodman's gruff clarinet; the straight-out-of-Kansas-City riffs on all tracks... plus a long etcetera helped by the exceptional sound quality of these old recordings. This music rewards repeated listening. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggyFPrAO1iZpebhTw1a7iZMaStwm-NKbZCQa_Vmay0PK5sJz4foVfkigDqTMse_CezO5b3RxV84GadPVhWwTTW4c09ry9sMa9EoBZIdjnjoHfFzg3-VdZC6ePbOX2cxgtbe_v10Hf3ew/s2024/CC+BG+Basie+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="2024" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiggyFPrAO1iZpebhTw1a7iZMaStwm-NKbZCQa_Vmay0PK5sJz4foVfkigDqTMse_CezO5b3RxV84GadPVhWwTTW4c09ry9sMa9EoBZIdjnjoHfFzg3-VdZC6ePbOX2cxgtbe_v10Hf3ew/w400-h221/CC+BG+Basie+2.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front: Young, Clayton, Goodman, Christian, Basie <br />Back: Jones, Green, Page. October 28, 1940 <a href="http://soloflight.cc/photos.htm" target="_blank">(source)</a><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">As we know, the rumoured merger never happened. Shortly after this session, Goodman famously snatched Cootie Williams from Duke Ellington's band (with Duke's blessing), and the Benny Goodman Sextet became—with the addition of tenor sax George Auld—Benny Goodman <i>and</i> His Sextet, which Jones would still join once, and Basie twice, in the studio.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, here they are: Buck Clayton on trumpet, Benny Goodman on clarinet, Lester Young on tenor sax, Charlie Christian on electric guitar, Freddie Green on acoustic guitar, Count Basie on piano, Walter Page on bass, and Jo Jones on drums, on October 28, 1940, eighty years ago today. </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>On <a href="https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/7012666" target="_blank">Qobuz</a></li><li>On <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCRI8N_xN2lCnbtCSXpoM7fv" target="_blank">YouTube</a> </li><li>On <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4wh5nkGx1GcGduMiVOk4Rt?si=7pHPVWb0RXKtP35EPzelOg" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li></ul></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-8925683565788312672020-10-17T20:00:00.024+01:002021-06-11T19:22:02.303+01:00Sean Levitt, guitar master (1955-2002)<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>2021-02-03 update: after a couple of comments below by John Lyon, author of </i><a href="https://books2read.com/u/mVgrZ2" target="_blank">Sean Levitt—Seven Transcriptions</a><i>, which includes the most complete biographical sketch I have seen of Levitt. I have corrected some mistakes, and have only added his complete name and the dates and places of his birth and death. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>~</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While jazz lives are routinely thrown to the "tragic" bucket too easily, there are instances for which that label is fitting. Sean Levitt, an astounding jazz guitar player you may have never heard of, is one of those cases.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="547" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vtpKIAxq5P0VHBKMCzZC8dg-Ir8wVjgl5VqGgB2iZSe4cRFWXBhErW94nbEJIsvsY4mT701Srh8FOGOUWPHfWNzJ_Xr_lb-9nVWs9uD2xMRjOAOM5-AkzIgvOmD_XhdY-NOuQlbub8c/s320/SL1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean Levitt in Salamanca, Spain, 1986 (<a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-jazz-salamanca/5296743/" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a name='more'></a>Although he was known as Sean Levitt, his original name seems to have been Shawn Felipe O'Rourke. He was born in Long Beach, California, on March 14, 1955. At some point, having split up with Mr. O'Rourke, his mother Stella and jazz drummer Al Levitt became partners, which put young Sean in direct contact with the jazz tradition in New York while growing up. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1N4vhrgcE69pQXaL8HQLniqrflKp8XrrxhldLgXOdf2kVVf2of2f-w28qyH2HacL4RaMqSv505z4H5zlKs9eGjcyV95mI9TIyRPjwYQmSBTI5d9l7Fg4ACvIui_wj0Le9AWzvV9edzzY/s440/SL3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="440" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1N4vhrgcE69pQXaL8HQLniqrflKp8XrrxhldLgXOdf2kVVf2of2f-w28qyH2HacL4RaMqSv505z4H5zlKs9eGjcyV95mI9TIyRPjwYQmSBTI5d9l7Fg4ACvIui_wj0Le9AWzvV9edzzY/w200-h182/SL3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We Are the Levitts</i> (ESP)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>As the story goes, he was 13 years old when he was busking in Central Park and got noticed by someone connected to the ESP-Disk record company. This led to the family album <i>We Are the Levitts</i>, on whose cover young Sean can be seen in typically meditative pose. The album is late-Sixties flower-pop fare, but Sean can be heard soloing on <a href="https://youtu.be/13Pt3Ci_8WE?t=120" target="_blank">"Fun City"</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/lv8QfR8LW-c?t=60" target="_blank">"Candy"</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="883" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieu1y-B5eZO_1MyFPLGj9ASuz8YUIBSZiQi5kxVAmXGYUvBQBS4chCUQUtZzvtdQE2fErK1GK0QY_M0-HL8wo9f6drzmLZMUKuzmsHeFA1bvSXduJ4kgfrP1YJLW7h7E7D6J0P8vrPVtc/w200-h153/SL2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean Levitt<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Fellow guitarist, friend and staunch Levitt advocate <a href="https://www.smallslive.com/artists/870-joel-fass/" target="_blank">Joel Fass</a>, has told the story of how Levitt left New York for Spain in 1982, having already had problems due to addiction to alcohol and narcotics. That said, Fass is adamant to add, and he's not alone in this, that Levitt was a good guy "with a lot of soul underneath the drugs". More from Fass about Levitt can be read <a href="https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/players/76985-sean-levitt-documentary.html#post989917" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/theory/57791-wave-jobim-analysis-using-barry-harris-method-4.html#post738798" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Levitt lived for a while in Barcelona, where he left a lasting mark on the local jazz scene. He appears to have been an erratic person, yet personable regardless of his circumstances. Even though he was a prisoner of his addictions, he always took care of his appearance and stood out wherever he went. When he played, he hardly moved except for his fingers. He was pure concentration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a guitar player, he was, for lack of a better word, a 100% bebop player. Some of the fast, staccato phrasing may sound a bit like Pat Martino, but he was a true original. If he reminds the listener of Doug Raney, do bear in mind that Raney himself let it be known that his three main models were his father, Jimmy, Barry Galbraith, and Sean Levitt, not the other way around. His solos sound totally devoid of any signature (or otherwise) licks.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From a few newspaper archives, Levitt would have lived mainly in Barcelona from 1982, except for a few years in Madrid, some time between 1986 and 1991. After that, he would have gone back to Barcelona, only to leave for good around 1997. According to a short notice in daily newspaper La Vanguardia of Barcelona, Levitt died in Paris in June 2002. The actual date was July 8.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>His legacy</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a player of his magnitude, there is very little of Sean Levitt on record. The school <i>Taller de Músics</i> (Musicians' Workshop) of Barcelona released <a href="https://tallerdemusics.com/en/disco/sean-levitt" target="_blank">a single CD</a> later included in a posthumous <a href="https://tallerdemusics.com/en/disco/sean-orourke-levitt-unrealeased-recordings" target="_blank">4-CD set</a> together with previously unreleased recordings. These are now available on streaming platforms.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is some footage of him playing on YouTube, but a couple of gigs filmed by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE for their show <i><a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2016/03/cifus-legacy-one-year-later.html" target="_blank">Jazz entre amigos</a></i> (Jazz among friends) are the best way to watch him play at some length. In 2013, the same presenter, Cifu, devoted the second half of one of his radio shows, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/jazz-porque-si/jazz-porque-si-anne-paceo-sean-levitt-08-07-13/1921236/?t=1h09m17s" target="_blank"><i>Jazz porque sí</i></a> (Jazz because), to him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One was recorded in 1986, in Salamanca, Spain, with Horacio Fumero on bass and Aldo Caviglia on drums. It can be seen <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-jazz-salamanca/5296743/" target="_blank">here</a>, with a bonus track, a beautiful reading of "'Round Midnight", <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-horace-parlan-sean-levitt/4735439/?t=41m11s" target="_blank">included in a later programme</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Salamanca he can be seen speaking briefly, in Spanish, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-jazz-salamanca/5296743/?t=45m29s" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other, recorded in early 1991 at the regular studio of the programme and just uploaded <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-sean-levitt-cuarteto/5673695/" target="_blank">here</a>, he led a quartet with Chano Domínguez on piano, Richie Ferrer on bass and Guillermo McGill on drums. Gearheads will notice that he plays an Ibanez IMG2010 X-ING, a rather heavy (maple solid body) synth guitar (more info <a href="https://youtu.be/jSG1H6I9svw" target="_blank">here</a>), even though he sticks to a traditional jazz sound.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There's another gig from 1982, recorded also by Spanish public radio, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/discopolis-jazz/discopolis-jazz-24-10-20/5692164/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5yvoE0p7qj5Py3gV2SXZS9qtUPjPrgbKOsGfA5O2idxXlHLVM9k7WRqWX1kVgfEZPG3d9HjzlGhB3HuKoTenxj9wdykvMmv6y4Hnvi-eLte87unzTEoJHAe7ltg4F4dXwYN0kEL2pAA/s324/SL4.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: 0em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="324" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5yvoE0p7qj5Py3gV2SXZS9qtUPjPrgbKOsGfA5O2idxXlHLVM9k7WRqWX1kVgfEZPG3d9HjzlGhB3HuKoTenxj9wdykvMmv6y4Hnvi-eLte87unzTEoJHAe7ltg4F4dXwYN0kEL2pAA/w200-h103/SL4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Vanguardia, Feb 5, 1993<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>From February 5, 1993, we also have this two-guitar gig with 22-year old Kurt Rosenwinkel, either Mario Rossy or Ben Street on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums at Jazz Sí/Taller de Músics, on <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jordimatas/sean-levitt-kurt-rosenwinkel" target="_blank">Soundcloud</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Focused mostly on his days at <i>Taller de Músics</i> in Barcelona, we now have <i>Sean Levitt: Retrato de una memoria </i>(Sean Levitt: Portrait of a Memory) an illuminating documentary, a loving yet honest profile of this great artist (subtitles in English).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/0jP-UcSPy8g" width="540"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">~~~</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Links recap and music:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I said above, there are very few recordings of Sean Levitt. Besides his releases on the <a href="https://tallerdemusics.com/en/disco/" target="_blank"><i>Taller de Músics</i> label</a>, and <i>The Levitts'</i> album on <a href="http://www.espdisk.com/1095.html" target="_blank">ESP</a>, he's on tenor sax Eladio Reinón's <i>Es la historia de un amor</i> on <a href="https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/eladio-reinon-albums/21-es-la-historia-de-un-amor-feat-tete-montoliu.html" target="_blank">Fresh Sound</a>, and on French singer <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Marie-M%C3%B6%C3%B6r-Barney-Wilen-Cendrilion/release/4041634" target="_blank">Marie Möör's album with Barney Wilen</a>. In sum, we have: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>John Lyon's <i>Sean Levitt—Seven Transcriptions</i>, including the most complete biographical sketch I have read, can be purchased <a href="https://books2read.com/u/mVgrZ2" target="_blank">here</a>. Even though it is brief text, Lyon uncovers more info on Levitt than anyone else so far.</li><li>All the recordings I've found so far on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCT0kEtAldj1_hskQkPwZe68" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0HwLTAFMB399HkmS0F9Akw" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. On those, note that what's listed as Bud Powell's "The Juice" is actually "Wail" (also Powell's).</li><li>Levitt also plays on two tracks on the album <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Big-Band-Del-Taller-De-Musicos-De-Barcelona-Neptuno-Blues/master/1445194" target="_blank">Big Band del Taller de Músicos de Barcelona: <i>Neptuno Blues </i>(RNE, 1986)</a>, "Bassically Yours" and "Neptuno Blues", not available on line.</li><li>Gig from 1982 (December 17) recorded by Spanish public radio, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/discopolis-jazz/discopolis-jazz-24-10-20/5692164/" target="_blank">here</a>. The complete "Confirmation" from that gig can be heard, from 35:56, <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/discopolis-jazz/discopolis-jazz-11122-casablaca-johnny-1982-31-10-20/5697599/" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li><i>Jazz entre amigos </i>show on Spanish public TV from 1986: <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-jazz-salamanca/5296743/" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><ul><li>One extra track from that show: <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-horace-parlan-sean-levitt/4735439/?t=41m11s" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>Another track from that show: <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-noche-26-01-1987/5912221/" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul><li><i>Jazz entre amigos </i>show on Spanish public TV from 1991: <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/jazz-entre-amigos/jazz-entre-amigos-sean-levitt-cuarteto/5673695/" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>Two-guitar gig with Kurt Rosenwinkel in Barcelona, 1993: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/jordimatas/sean-levitt-kurt-rosenwinkel" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li><i>Jazz porque sí</i> show on Spanish national radio, broadcast in 2013: <a href="https://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/jazz-porque-si/jazz-porque-si-anne-paceo-sean-levitt-08-07-13/1921236/?t=1h09m17s" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>Documentary "Portrait of a Memory": <a href="https://youtu.be/0jP-UcSPy8g" target="_blank">here</a>.</li><li>All available programmes of <i>Jazz entre amigos</i> in alphabetical order: <a href="https://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2016/03/cifus-legacy-one-year-later.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>With thanks to Professor </i><b>Héctor García Roel</b><i> of <a href="https://www.rockinmad.es/hector-garcia-roel/" target="_blank">Rockin' Mad</a> in Madrid, Spain.</i></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-32650700831113166482020-10-09T16:16:00.005+01:002020-10-10T11:58:44.611+01:00Jamal v. Shearing (or let's hear it for Crosby & Fournier)<div style="text-align: justify;">The piano is one instrument where comparisons between musicians are easier to make. There are no two identical pianos in the world, but the common mechanics, the inability to bend notes (Monk notwithstanding) and the generally untouched, acoustic sound are a better yardstick than any other instrument (the triangle, perhaps) to tell musicians apart—case in point: in 1958-1959, Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans were recorded at the same studio, Columbia's "church" at 30th St., and it's likely that at some point they used the same piano, and yet they're easily identifiable.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="500" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tPqHfxcKEjxHyWMFaNaTJCD8lS6Iko6LqLMMB1OjWui6EKLBNcKb1OhfgEJ-Wy59RCXsySDLXvpT6m86ovX2dUiv33Z_B8Gl0fCkF7w_5aqpOn6H5uSBSA8LdemlS0OtQupiDxfkg0E/w400-h284/Pianos+at+30th-St-Studio-C.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pianos at Columbia's 30th St. studio (<a href="http://www.reevesaudio.com/vintagesessions.html" target="_blank">source</a>)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">Taking comparisons one step further, and given the popularity of the trio with bass and drums, how about two different pianists playing with the same rhythm team? Unusual, but he have at least one case worth listening to: Ahmad Jamal (b. 1930) and George Shearing (1919-2011) are two very different pianists, with a common trait: both have been put down for their commercial success; in Jamal's case, it didn't help that Miles Davis shouted out his boundless enthusiasm for the very young and relatively unknown pianist. In Shearing's case, it has been recognized by all parties involved that he copied Bud Powell—no mean feat—and it is well known that Powell despised him for it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Between 1956 and 1962, Jamal led a unit comprising him on piano, Israel Crosby (1919-1962) on bass and Vernel Fournier (1928-2000) on drums. They recorded frequently, and had some popularity with their best-selling live recording at the Pershing Club, made in 1958, particularly their arrangement for "Poinciana", whose rhythm is now known as the "Poinciana beat".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Z0e2G32f3IU" width="540"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shearing led a very succesful quintet himself, with vibes, guitar, bass, and drums playing the idiosyncratic "Shearing sound", a sort of adaptation of Glenn Miller's reed section to the piano, bookended by guitar and vibes doubling the lower and upper notes, respectively. In a break from the quintet, in June 1962, Shearing played a a gig at Basin Street East in NYC as a trio, with Crosby and Fournier, some of which was recorded and published as <i>Jazz Moments</i> (Capitol). Sadly, it was Crosby's last recording.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS9zqvi2EfkHAxhjg5Ek2OdWlM1u_jBxC6j5DJHoElw9JLR8bJ_6ANh-KIyVynQaol69Fs7z-6MXAdbqLKamh30nDZfrXksuWLMBRm_xvHsJWYxCWe1xrLLPqYsIDM_rSYCqCmJ-w95A/s320/shearing+jazz+moments.png" width="320" /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've put together a short playlist with the five titles both bands played, Shearing in June 1962, Jamal at different moments either in 1958 or 1961, close enough in time. As expected, the interaction with Jamal is looser and more fluid. The listener will reach their own conclusions, I hope, but it is interesting to see that Shearing applies the "Poinciana beat" to "What is this thing called love?" (where Jamal unsurprisingly quotes Tadd Dameron's "Hot House"), whereas Jamal doesn't in any of these tunes. The more radical difference happens on "It Could Happen to You", where Jamal plays emphatically (and Fournier at one point plays triplets with the brushes), whereas Shearing's long, arpeggiated intro is overtly sweet, a bit like Jamal's long quote of "The Sound of Music" on "Like Someone in Love". </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="640" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiny_jxBcvwdoTDi8fXNDsqfvuiJFEMitG46Tz2VnD34tpeRlLAvZNtX9eWY9T3pjlLrFOkYGn76NdOPvMC1_VWCFZceSyO3MhyphenhyphenhXM9pNeaOZ0nd5kgufHXlkTA0-rsBTmA0NAWQLXWCQ/w400-h363/Vernell+Fournier+Israel+Crosby+TOUCH++I-64.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vernel Fournier and Israel Crosby, at Newport Jazz Festival<br />(possibly on July 2, 1959)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">So, here they are Ahmad Jamal and George Shearing with Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier. And if the pianists don't whet your apetite, forget about them and listen to Fournier and, especially, Crosby, one of the truly great bassists in the history of jazz.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Listen on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCT2XnJDilF-IgPttZ8fQkVb" target="_blank">YouTube</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1pU5ob384bPx2QSXld27EB?si=NdyjP_uhTmChH4AitKPGJA" target="_blank">Spotify</a>.</div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-88686061046356221912020-08-29T21:52:00.007+01:002021-08-28T10:34:57.113+01:00A few notes about Charlie Parker<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fFLnrfRa3bOA6MJtpo88zmcT1-fuLM-P7d_YapSK5zeczsI56KOof8SH9Uxs9HcPYgaZpkTGLDaRtRspl2MBDaxw8M1AjS6S6I6sFP5rvYlPJSsGTUzkAb9bndHvP5gywFPB4Q2UNis/s280/BirdNG2+%25283%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fFLnrfRa3bOA6MJtpo88zmcT1-fuLM-P7d_YapSK5zeczsI56KOof8SH9Uxs9HcPYgaZpkTGLDaRtRspl2MBDaxw8M1AjS6S6I6sFP5rvYlPJSsGTUzkAb9bndHvP5gywFPB4Q2UNis/s0/BirdNG2+%25283%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie Parker<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />After all the work putting together a <b><a href="http://www.elclubdejazz.com/programa/588/" target="_blank">three-hour podcast for Club de Jazz to celebrate Charlie Parker-s centennial (in Spanish)</a></b>, these are few notes I've jotted down: </div>
<a name='more'></a>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>Having listened to over 90% of his recordings and read a good chunk of the relevant literature, the conclusion is inescapable: <b>Charlie Parker was a genius</b>. He was also called Bird and, even though he did not have "Christopher" as middle name <i>officially</i>, there is at least one document (a hotel registry from 1951) signed by him, as "Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.". </li></ul><ul><li>As it happens with other African-American artists, when it comes to Bird it seems that personal matters are more important than music. The emotional pull of his personal history is understandable, even from a sympathetic point of view, but do believe me, all that pales in the face of his music. </li></ul><ul><li>A black artist with addiction problems playing sophisticated music calls for esoteric explanations for his genius. Us listeners tend to forget that, as sublime as it may be, music springs from a mechanical effort, and Parker is no exception. As a teenager he practiced all day, every day for a long time, as he told his altoist colleague Paul Desmond (<a href="https://youtu.be/_J3250FdAHc?t=123" target="_blank">audio</a>/<a href="http://www.plosin.com/MilesAhead/BirdInterviews.aspx#540100" target="_blank">transcription</a>). Good old hard work would be, then, the necessary condition, and even if it's not sufficient to reach Parkerian heights, Desmond's relief at hearing Parker's explanation is noticeable. </li></ul><ul><li>Parker may well be the jazz musician with the largest number of analytical pages about him: see the treatises by <a href="https://archive.org/details/CharlieParkerDissertationVolumeIThomasOwens1974" target="_blank">Thomas Owens</a>, <a href="https://uwpress.wisc.edu/books/0767.htm" target="_blank">Larry Koch</a>, <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/11661786/charlie_parker" target="_blank">Carl Woideck</a>, and <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781461657385/Charlie-Parker-and-Thematic-Improvisation" target="_blank">Henry Martin</a>, His recordings have been dissected under the microscope, and—yet more proof of his genius—even though we know how Parker's music works, play it and the mystery is still there. </li></ul><ul><li>As per Owens, Parker drew from a collection of about 100 motifs to put his solos together, pretty much regardless of the tune at hand; later Martin argued that his improvisations were indeed related to the tune, In any case, he pretty much played just blues and songs, what we call <i>standards</i>, a rather limited repertoire. Parker's musical boundaries are then well defined and known; and still, his imagination and creativity sound boundless. </li></ul><ul><li>Parker was an African-American child of the 1920s and, as such, he got serious formal musical tuition while in school. Besides, <b>he grew up within a musical tradition</b>, that of Kansas City (Missouri), the Midwest's hub of business and nightly entertainment at the time. This brought abundant supply and demand of musicians, which raised standards. The best local orchestra, Bennie Moten's included future stars like Ben Webster, Hot Lips Page, Count Basie and a few of the latter's first band. After Moten's untimely death, Basie had a nonet with altoist Buster Smith. When Basie left for Chicago and then New York, Smith stayed behind. They called him "professor". Parker would play in his band. You can hear Smith playing <a href="https://youtu.be/zrEiurQjfNw?t=84" target="_blank">here</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>Some of that local tradition is based on <b>the blues</b>. The blues is/are many things, from a metaphor of the struggles and triumphs of African-American life, to a distinct set of musical devices. Parker grew up soaked in the blues and kept them at the centre of his new way of playing, paving the way for its revival as part of <i>Hard Bop</i>. For proof of Parker's musical and emotive reach, listen to the <a href="https://youtu.be/gxPJ4IoX5o8" target="_blank">"Requiem"</a> dedicated to him by white, and allegedly cold and cerebral, pianist Lennie Tristano. </li></ul><ul><li><b>1945.</b> World War II is finally over with the first two atomic bombs dropped on civilians. The world changes dramatically and, with it, that small patch of humanity that is jazz: the balance between orchestras for dancing and small groups for listening begins to tilt towards the latter, and higher standards of dexterity, already displayed by players like Art Tatum and Coleman Hawkins, become the norm. In that context, Parker, together with Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, expand the possibilities of jazz beyond immediate enjoyment. </li></ul><ul><li><b><i>Be bop</i></b>, unfortunate tag, born from that quintessentially American marriage of art and commerce. On the one hand, it represents an artistic praxis beyond repproach: instrumental virtuosity, harmonic and rhythmic innovation, emotive pull; on the other, the youthful outlandish attires and attitudes that filled news pages, like rockabilly and punk would do in the future. </li></ul><ul><li>This change of paradigm affected music, aesthetics and even logistics—the transition from ballrooms to clubs and cafes, the first jazz festivals, the international tours—and Parker was a significant part in it. The main jazz musicians in the following 40/50 years came out from under his wings, if not straight from his bands: Miles Davis, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Kenny Dorham, John Lewis... were once his sidemen. Contemporaries like Dizzy, his big band's rhythm section (later known as the Modern Jazz Quartet), Sarah Vaughan, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell... Sax players who openly followed his lead, like John Coltrane, Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, James Moody, Phil Woods, Gene Quill... So overbearing was his dominance, that a career in music could be started by just <i>not</i> copying him, like Lee Konitz did.</li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrk01nAt097ZjQ3893btBeWy6XjY7Xh0Xq7SQLOD62plq-5i-jaGXcIXts9wBYn9EF7It1qVc0w-05K0xOgZzhC-xOZEambA6aI8kRA-PWKpExSBuJQEdDKNURgp1BhhQAks154RIdSds/s457/ParkerColtrane.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrk01nAt097ZjQ3893btBeWy6XjY7Xh0Xq7SQLOD62plq-5i-jaGXcIXts9wBYn9EF7It1qVc0w-05K0xOgZzhC-xOZEambA6aI8kRA-PWKpExSBuJQEdDKNURgp1BhhQAks154RIdSds/s0/ParkerColtrane.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like several generations of musicians, John Coltrane looks up to Charlie Parker<br />Jimmy Heath's band, Elate Club Ballroom, <br />Philadelphia, December 7, 1947</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><ul><li>A new time, a shocking new music, the genius Paul Desmond wondered about... too many people believed the explanation was <b>heroin</b>. In the fringes of society everything's riskier. Parker himself was still a minor when he got hooked, and tried to make it bearable by drinking alcohol, which eventually killed him.</li></ul><ul><li>Youth, music and drugs in post-WWII America: Woody Herman's reed section, the original <i>four brothers</i> (Stan Getz-20, Zoot Sims-22, Serge Chaloff-24, the latter, their in-house dealer) recorded <a href="https://youtu.be/T5mf4a2F86I?t=81" target="_blank">an orchestrated solo of Parker's</a>, ten months after he made the <a href="https://youtu.be/i9tOrJfdch8?t=94" target="_blank">original</a>, an instant homage with few precedents: "Singing the Blues" by Beiderbecke/Trumbauer (<a href="https://youtu.be/EfmzS2hYNvk" target="_blank">1927</a>), then Fletcher Henderson (<a href="https://youtu.be/Ft3sL3_i3BA" target="_blank">1931</a>); and "West End Blues" by Louis Armstrong (<a href="https://youtu.be/JgfDC_QdmYs" target="_blank">1928</a>), then Charlie Barnet (<a href="https://youtu.be/HiyUu7ZR_RI" target="_blank">1944</a>).</li></ul><ul><li>About "West End Blues": Parker <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2018/08/bird-quotes-satchmo.html" target="_blank">incorporated it in his solos</a> around 1949-50. Intergenerational rivalries were overhyped.</li></ul><ul><li><b>Parker left too soon, </b>and not just because he was 34, but for historical reasons too: he never recorded in stereo; or at Rudy Van Gelder's; or for jazz classic label Blue Note (established in 1939). Hank Mobley did <i>Soul Station</i> in 1960: imagine Parker at 40 with that rhythm section (Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Art Blakey) on the same label.</li></ul><ul><li>Parker's career is not a uniform block. His life, rather than short, was condensed, fast and movable. His music too: just compare <a href="https://youtu.be/ciFjhdeEa5A" target="_blank">the 1945 concert at Town Hall</a> with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l9ptGe25F5SaAAdDacQf687X9nyLoD1hY" target="_blank">1953 gig at the Open Door</a>, where he flies <i>altissimo</i> with unprecedented urgency, at least in part thanks to Art Taylor's driving drumming.</li></ul><ul><li>And the music? The podcast I mentioned above has a selection of it (the link shows the playlist).</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Negative tips:</b> two works have too much weight on our perception of Charlie Parker, Ross Russell's biography and Clint Eastwood's <i>Bird</i>. This is not fair for anyone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li>When it came out, <b>Ross Russell's biography</b> was well received, but in time it has lost its reputation. As an example, his tale about the famous concert at Massey Hall in 1953 is just an unjustified flight of his imagination, <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2013/05/salt-peanuts-salt-peanuts-massey-hall.html" target="_blank">as I told elsewhere</a>.</li><li>The power of moving images is yet again demonstrated by Clint Eastwood's <i><b>Bird</b>. </i>I just re-watched the film. Even with Parker's chronology fresh in my mind, the flash-backs and -forwards were confusing. The bias favouring the two main contributors, Chan Richardson, Parker's last partner and mother of two of his kids, and Red Rodney, one of his trumpet players, was to be expected, but still excessive. Telling Parker's stay in Camarillo with no mention of Doris Sydnor, his previous wife, is too large a dramatic licence. "Dizzy"'s sermon to Parker about personal responsibility sounds too close to the director's personal creed. Worst of all, though is the portrayal of Parker as some sort of powerless idiot-savant. Parker had a difficult, turbulent life, yes, but it was full of top-level music. And he certainly wasn't powerless.</li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b>Positive tips:</b> </div><div><ul><li><i style="font-weight: bold;">Bird - The Legend of Charlie Parker </i>by <b>Robert Reisner </b>was the first book published about Parker, and it's a good counterweight to the film <i>Bird</i>. It's a choral book, with testimonies from 81 people who knew Parker in different capacities, some of them quite telling, like Shorty Baker's who was sure Parker was older than him (he was six years younger). This choral quality gives out a multifaceted image of Parker that feels more real. Interestingly, the most repeated observation refers to his generosity: with money when he had any cash on him, and with his encouragement towards other musicians.</li><li><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/chasin-the-bird-9780195327090?cc=us&lang=en" target="_blank"><b><i>Chasin' the Bird</i> by Brian Priestley</b></a> is an exemplary book. Brief, concise, and to the point. It weeds out the myths and sticks to what was known at the time (<a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/66xkc6nx9780252037917.html" target="_blank">Chuck Haddix's</a> and <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/kansas-city-lightning-stanley-crouch" target="_blank">Stanley Crouch's</a> books, with new information, came later); his analysis, description, rather, of Parker's music is crystalline and manages to anticipate the reader's questions when listening to Parker. </li><li>For raw, hard data on chronology and discography, <a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/main.aspx" target="_blank">Peter Losin's website</a> is indispensable.</li><li>And of course, this is not the first time <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlie%20Parker" target="_blank">Charlie Parker is featured in this blog</a>.</li></ul></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-9478244366714665092020-06-26T16:01:00.006+01:002020-10-30T11:47:29.553+00:00Cecil Taylor dances to...<div style="text-align: justify;">Passion for music is one facet common to both its practitioners and their audiences. If not passion, at least its overbearing presence in our daily lives. In jazz, with so many giant innovators and because its history has often been told as a relay race where the baton would be "influence", there has always been some interest in knowing what our idols listen(ed) to. We know that Miles Davis would listen to anything, including a lot of jazz —as shown in his various <i>blindfold tests</i>— or that Coleman Hawkins hardly listened to any other music than classical at home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of those giant innovators would be Cecil Taylor. Admittedly, not everyone's cup of tea, but I think we can agree that he was a monster pianist with an unassailable artistic and personal integrity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Roaming around the internet, I have found these two photographs, taken by <a href="https://deborahfeingold.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Feingold</a>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4Yfvg1DDVBdO2PahQqn_Z1NmNwjabB_2DHKiFDgpRYCcTy3nzA1lAlMH07P3BJQTIxakGAzMrC4W-MQ8fjwOw5iD35HvCz6GEsDIL3Qae-6Z56TbUaoSjXHQzSky0XxNC3wz-o4u3Gc/s2048/CT+AT+HOME.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1386" data-original-width="2048" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR4Yfvg1DDVBdO2PahQqn_Z1NmNwjabB_2DHKiFDgpRYCcTy3nzA1lAlMH07P3BJQTIxakGAzMrC4W-MQ8fjwOw5iD35HvCz6GEsDIL3Qae-6Z56TbUaoSjXHQzSky0XxNC3wz-o4u3Gc/w500-h339/CT+AT+HOME.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/cecil-taylor-at-home-picture-id533106112" target="_blank">Source</a>)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiVvWpM0LQUrM-UFdkM7_0uKuMVr6K7Rc-_NADLkM8-8SWyvpc5XuSH3sTIkqgS57o29zCf7Ijsry6fEou3eBSFnG9puoBMMukvnaHlhSu7qByeAGPrIb3O7V16ojEtmxq4KkOTUWXXo/s2048/CT+AT+HOME+COLOR.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1417" data-original-width="2048" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwiVvWpM0LQUrM-UFdkM7_0uKuMVr6K7Rc-_NADLkM8-8SWyvpc5XuSH3sTIkqgS57o29zCf7Ijsry6fEou3eBSFnG9puoBMMukvnaHlhSu7qByeAGPrIb3O7V16ojEtmxq4KkOTUWXXo/w500-h345/CT+AT+HOME+COLOR.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;">(</span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/cecil-taylor-at-home-news-photo/533110292" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Source</a><span style="text-align: justify;">)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taylor seems to be dancing—which he would do in his performances—in his music room, where besides the piano and a conga drum (under his right arm), there can be seen a lot of LPs, among which three covers can be made out.<a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the middle, on the floor, we have <i style="font-weight: bold;">Clifford Brown & Max Roach at the Bee Hive </i>(more details on <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Clifford-Brown-Max-Roach-Live-At-The-Bee-Hive/release/2791282" target="_blank">Discogs</a>):</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuqcEIcoMUOwJzkRf34JLqH4fwiMpDqVx9vn79_Iripe3e08rEipSxsHeLrQ8m3BhCzIj8EabXtEJVEMMzviL4SbUOU4b07tifYWNszxPuUcOXM9LOQIL0xL_o5UZCmUxpwTSrtXyVPQ/s501/Brownie+Beehive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuqcEIcoMUOwJzkRf34JLqH4fwiMpDqVx9vn79_Iripe3e08rEipSxsHeLrQ8m3BhCzIj8EabXtEJVEMMzviL4SbUOU4b07tifYWNszxPuUcOXM9LOQIL0xL_o5UZCmUxpwTSrtXyVPQ/s320/Brownie+Beehive.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Available on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCRFXNAGIPI1NOTikkYyV8B6" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">YouTube</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> and </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/1ASwTyZzFQF55APfMdWmjy?si=Ibzz9Ju0TU-pChEBrFiiDw" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Spotify</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a double LP released by Columbia with live recordings from 1955, the same year when Taylor himself recorded his first album, <i>Jazz Advance </i>(Transition). Its contents are an astounding display of this group stretching out, an essential document despite the rather poor sound; it's worth noting that, by the time this photo was taken (1982 at the earliest), Taylor had already performed and recorded with Roach as a duo.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To our right, on the piano, we have <b><i>Dinah Washington's </i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;">After Hours with Miss D.</i> (more details on <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Dinah-Washington-After-Hours-With-Miss-D/release/3700671" target="_blank">Discogs</a>):</div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="581" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTSbQ2ptbF-wMl0JusoYZO8qzxRYLf6ILudb7w2q5FOOaBWH91RJ1iP6tyf55Ls63RZf7n2eCHezV0nWbzCBoIrHfrpHIzO3d5e59n_C-e-qD2P2TZwK5NSV6ON9rOfVzOgtsw3nS3ao/s320/dinahwashington-afterhourswithmissd%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Available on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQkdyjRzW8IRpISAQsQLTLw" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">YouTube</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> and </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/7bp3ZFytOzi4UaaXI2NxiC?si=8Lb6JS50S_q-laSDr8oF6A" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Spotify</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a reissue on the Trip label of recordings originally made for Mercury, in mono, with liner notes by Dan Morgenstern. It also comes from the mid-1950s, as shown on its cover. It's a collection of standards in longish versions, with instrumental solos by Clark Terry, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Paul Quinichette and Junior Mance, among others. Watch out for her reading of "Love for Sale".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, to our left, under the turntable, we can spot <b><i>Patrice Rushen's</i></b> <i style="font-weight: bold;">Straight from the Heart </i>(more details on <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Patrice-Rushen-Straight-From-The-Heart/release/155330" target="_blank">Discogs</a>):</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75sTyKwcSy38I2oztyjWYMQzhL-j2eefxNQOd2kji9j1fiz_Gzi6MjoufI9J5eysrBQHsSc2FqFfGf8xGYP41epfCDaPKV5OAMCTAbr5k2jCCGXfnrD9YFwKCxBirIu2KaTrnDrI4dB8/s970/patrice+rushen+STRAIGHT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="970" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75sTyKwcSy38I2oztyjWYMQzhL-j2eefxNQOd2kji9j1fiz_Gzi6MjoufI9J5eysrBQHsSc2FqFfGf8xGYP41epfCDaPKV5OAMCTAbr5k2jCCGXfnrD9YFwKCxBirIu2KaTrnDrI4dB8/s320/patrice+rushen+STRAIGHT.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Available on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCSGxBIWBAffDsJWseTg1zDG" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">YouTube</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and </span><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/73TPk27H5MBU6flqQ1lr09?si=wV4WwKpWTyuFAVw5mFLOOw" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Spotify</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Released in 1982 and possibly just acquired by Taylor, this was one of the hits of that year, especially on the radio and the dance floors. About this, Gary Giddins tells <a href="https://jerryjazzmusician.com/2003/03/conversations-with-gary-giddins-on-pianist-cecil-taylor/" target="_blank">this story</a> about the time, around 1968, when he brought Taylor to perform in Grinnell College, in Iowa.</div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><blockquote style="text-align: left;">at one point during a dorm party he asked me what albums I had in my room, so I invited him to come check out my collection. I was really proud of my super hip jazz collection, which he looked at with complete disdain and asked me, "Got any James Brown?" I was crushed.</blockquote></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even if these photos were staged, with the visible covers well chosen, and given the real possibility that there was music on during the photoshoot, I want to think—and it wouldn't be impossible—that Taylor was dancing to this:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jtMHsNhQBvI" width="560"></iframe></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-61603203806562597002020-05-31T18:58:00.012+01:002020-06-04T18:47:21.455+01:00New Charlie Parker interview<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnezCXWXuCcYY24AWGd9OP6vP6sYLrZVgWKKCRVbVvdeEFyi6xk0i4iKwqiTcPDgpXyl6wPlThWe-ofH87syiadlAvPxmKHAIrrTK7LZinhnOjMhRLmerpxfCp_gVUrcRto4TMn1IEhE/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1945" data-original-width="1501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnezCXWXuCcYY24AWGd9OP6vP6sYLrZVgWKKCRVbVvdeEFyi6xk0i4iKwqiTcPDgpXyl6wPlThWe-ofH87syiadlAvPxmKHAIrrTK7LZinhnOjMhRLmerpxfCp_gVUrcRto4TMn1IEhE/w247-h320/Leigh+Kamman.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leigh Kamman<br /></td></tr></tbody></table>
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Wonders never cease. I've just discovered broadcaster Leigh Kamman's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChH2l1MuRVI5EIAH1uJ7WMQ/" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.leighkamman.com/" target="_blank">his website</a>. Kamman passed away in 2014, aged 92.</div>
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Among the jewels in his vaults, there is the short interview below with Charlie Parker, posted only yesterday. It's a phone-in, and Kamman introduces himself as <i>"The Little Bandmaster" from The 1280 Club on WOV, New York</i>.</div>
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The interview is short, but still illuminating with regard to Bird's preferences in jazz (he singles out Clifford Brown, and then, from California, Chet Baker and Frank Morgan) classical music (Bartok and Stravinsky), and his promotion of his music with large ensembles. Kamman had just played <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6082612682878693097/7784366699779099322#" target="_blank">"Autumn in New York"</a> and they agree that he will put <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6082612682878693097/7784366699779099322#" target="_blank">"Lover"</a> on after the call. </div>
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Regarding the date, although it is listed as "1954", and it would not be impossible—readers of an earlier version of this post will know that Parker had one gig at Birdland that year, from which he was fired. That 1954 gig started on August 26, it was broadcast on the 27th, and Bird was fired from Birdland on the 29th, his birthday. The most likely date, in that scenario, would be the 28th. However, I think an earlier date is more plausible, given the records and names mentioned in the conversation.</div>
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According to Ken Vail's <i>Bird's Diary</i> and <a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Bird/Charlie%20Parker%20Chronology%201954.html" target="_blank">Leif Bo Petersen's online chronology</a>, Parker had first met and played with Clifford Brown in 1951 in Philadelphia (August 13-19 seem the most probable dates), and he first met Chet Baker and Frank Morgan in California in May-July 1952 (there is a recording of the three together from July 15 at Jerry Zorthian’s Ranch in Altadena, CA). About his stay in California, Parker also names a drummer he calls "Brownie", which he may or may not be mixing up with Clifford Brown's nickname; for what it's worth, the drummer in all his bootleg recordings with Chet Baker is Larance Marable. </div>
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About Baker, Parker says that he "<i>ran into a trumpet player</i>, Chet Baker, in California, <i>about two or three months ago</i>", which sounds like it was their first meeting, placing this interview sometime in the autumn of '52. </div>
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Kamman recognizes Baker from the Gerry Mulligan quartet: their first record was reviewed on Billboard on October 25, 1952. Furthermore, the two tracks by Charlie Parker bookending the interview were both recorded on the same session in January 1952; "Autumn in New York" was released in April, and "Lover" in July. It is worth remembering that radio jazz shows at the time played mostly recent records.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is always the possibility that an interviewee might misremember dates. Parker himself, in a well-known interview with Paul Desmond in 1954, got a few dates wrong <i>from a decade before</i>. It seems unlikely to misremember a timespan of "two or three months". Also, from my experience querying musicians about sessions, the fact that Parker links "Lover" to "Autumn in New York" may well indicate that it was a recent event.</div>
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At the beginning of the interview, Kamman says "<i>the other night we caught you down at Birdland</i> blowing some wonderful sounds with that alto saxophone", and he closes with "thank you very much for taking time out before you go down to <i>Birdland for a big session tonight</i>". This seems to imply that Parker was playing Birdland frequently. </div>
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As far as we know, Parker had his "cabaret card" (the permit to play in nightclubs in New York) revoked for the second half of 1952 and early 1953, but we know of least two one-nighters at Birdland in 1952, on September 21 and November 2, because they were 1) broadcast (it looks like they were not bothered to keep it a secret), and 2) recorded by Boris Rose—more non-broadcast appearances at the club seem likely. (In 1953 he had his card back, and he was able to keep steadier jobs at the club: he did whole weeks in May, June and July in 1953.) </div>
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All the above considered, I think this interview happened before 1954, most probably in the autumn of 1952. Kim Parker, Chan Richardson's daughter from a previous relationship, has confirmed it was her who answered the phone:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;"></div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: left;">"Yes. That was definitely me answering the phone. I can't tell you the date though. My guess would be 1952. If I knew the month, I might be able to pinpoint the year. We left New York City in October of 1954. Pree died in March of 1954. That makes me think it was 1952. I thought my telephone technique was quite good."</div></div>
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</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Kamman's interview with Parker can be heard below. The voice picking up the phone would be that of 6-year old Kim Parker:</span></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HOQJXxwcvxk" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">You can hear the complete sequence, including the music, </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQbkDJ7OHquJnL1clm6lSVx" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">.</span>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-72977848462671305202020-05-14T19:15:00.002+01:002020-05-19T17:40:12.000+01:00Footage of Hank Mobley and Bobby Timmons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.michaelblackwoodproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Monk-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://www.michaelblackwoodproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Monk-1.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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The video below is an excerpt from the ground-breaking documentary <b><i>Monk</i> (1968)</b> by brothers Christian and Michael Blackwood. You may be familiar with that film, and its companion <i>Monk in Europe </i>(also 1968), given how much of them have appeared in subsequent works by other authors like <i>Straight, No Chaser</i> (1988), again about Monk, and the more recent <i>The Jazz Baroness</i> (2012) about Nica de Koenigswarter.</div>
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Both films are unparalleled in terms of vintage footage of jazz greats in action. Just on <i>Monk</i> you can see Wes Montgomery backstage at a festival produced in Atlanta by George Wein, also on screen, or producer Teo Macero and engineer Frank Laico at work with Monk at a Columbia Records studio (December 14 and 21, 1967, possibly studio A, at 799 Seventh Ave in Manhattan). In a scene similar to the one below, Roland Kirk can be seen in the kitchen at the Village Vanguard (around the 51' mark).</div>
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Do visit Michael Blackwood's website for more information on <i>Monk</i> and <i>Monk in Europe</i> <a href="https://www.michaelblackwoodproductions.com/project/monk/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.michaelblackwoodproductions.com/project/monk-in-europe/" target="_blank">here</a>, respectively. They can we watched on Vimeo, <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/monkpt1/237922324" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/monkineurope/265652146" target="_blank">here</a>, respectively.</div>
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<b>*</b></div>
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We have very little footage, if any, of pianist Bobby Timmons and saxophonist Hank Mobley. For that reason, any fleeting moment is worth showing. In the images below, they are both seen relaxed, hanging with Monk and the Baroness. The reason why the identity of Mobley may have escaped regular viewers is that the actual footage is quite, and fittingly, dark. Here, I've had to push the brightness to the top—the film looks much nicer.<br />
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So, this is 1967, most likely June, between Tuesday 13 and Sunday 25, when Monk played the Vanguard (with Monday 19 off). We are in the hallowed site of the Village Vanguard kitchen—Max Gordon, the owner, appears at one point. Monk (49-years old), Timmons (31), the Baroness (53) and Mobley (37) are discussing the value of money and jewelry. The first voice you hear is Mobley's...</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/woiKE0CGS5U" width="540"></iframe><br />
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The whole sequence, focused on Monk, lasts about 2:35, and it begins with the protagonist prodding the baroness to tell the story of her family's support of the English royal family against Napoleon, to which Bobby Timmons quips, bringing the conversation back to NYC, "ain't that a bitch". Monk shows his pride in having Nica's friendship, "I tell people who you are", looks straight at the camera and says "she's a billionaire! You know the Rothschilds?"<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSZN_J45VORiiJvFlm94LywiF75uD7llbUyqOGWpikViRBAfdyFoHpD5BtEKGnUtpipY_qBt66n1cp1jv1T8fjEgb5r01e3xfqAr79XnqBZ3YERTRXEwdB9Bplt9cM8zqUUbOntqSZg8/s1600/MonkTimmons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1209" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSZN_J45VORiiJvFlm94LywiF75uD7llbUyqOGWpikViRBAfdyFoHpD5BtEKGnUtpipY_qBt66n1cp1jv1T8fjEgb5r01e3xfqAr79XnqBZ3YERTRXEwdB9Bplt9cM8zqUUbOntqSZg8/s320/MonkTimmons.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thelonious Monk, Bobby Timmons, Nica de Koenigswarter, Hank Mobley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This is just friendly chit-chat, and with four people having two conversations at once, sometimes it's difficult to make out what they are saying, but they go on to talk about money, and Monk muses to himself "I'm not going to be without money no more, that's over with", perhaps recalling a not-too-distant past, while the other three discuss something else and Timmons is heard saying "oh yeah, we know about that", to which Nica ribs him: "you don't know shit".<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo600szov78p77wibr_2vNTWvpu3IG-RQciXQI5B0lW8H6MGcX1cjWKFjLRAsfMre7SPyeyhBBFEcAt8Qx8_8OhEOVp8NJjI4nI88UTeftnMwwBxtsLW2hsPMQyAqB2dTLC0G00CSDoUM/s1600/Kelley+1000+bill+p393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="991" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo600szov78p77wibr_2vNTWvpu3IG-RQciXQI5B0lW8H6MGcX1cjWKFjLRAsfMre7SPyeyhBBFEcAt8Qx8_8OhEOVp8NJjI4nI88UTeftnMwwBxtsLW2hsPMQyAqB2dTLC0G00CSDoUM/s320/Kelley+1000+bill+p393.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About Monk's $1,000 bill, from Robin D.G. Kelley's biography of Monk (p. 393).<br />
This happened shortly after the scene at the Vanguard </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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With money in his mind, Monk seems to show Mobley his $1,000 bill, to which Mobley replies cooly "it looks like a piece of paper to me". Among the chatter, Mobley argues the value of gold and then, as shown above, jewelery and Monk's ring. Timmons can he heard disagreeing with Mobley, "are you kidding?!" Nica directs Mobley's attention to Monk's head, and Mobley tells him:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">"Give me your brains, and I'll make all the money I want to make."</span> </blockquote>
Which is significant, given Mobley's future frustration with the way his career would go. Monk seems a bit rattled by this, "is that so?" he asks twice, sceptically, moves away from the group and changes subject, "oh, but I can play the piano straight", while Mobley, with his back to the camera and still going on about Monk's bill, says, chuckling "as a matter of fact, I think they would take a $20 bill. I can take you to an area where they will take a $20 bill before they'll take that ring <i>or </i>a $1,000 bill, because they'll take the $1,000 bill and the ring as a treat!". Then Monk gets the floor and describes his ring, its apparent value, and how he had to make it smaller so it wouldn't fall when he played, to which Nica seems to tell him that he has tiny fingers.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmc9bl8a1MVbZs3Jq2kcG6ayuRLLeXcdjeoS8sPZ3U2BjyiF4jICS_fbsQYugTYJzmS-VNwBgt_kbWRMLv-d53GELaI3p2aHqo7D96sngAC_HI9ulrN5y4sFOS1q5sA38Y1x2kM0RGak/s1600/MonkMaxGordon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="753" data-original-width="1013" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmc9bl8a1MVbZs3Jq2kcG6ayuRLLeXcdjeoS8sPZ3U2BjyiF4jICS_fbsQYugTYJzmS-VNwBgt_kbWRMLv-d53GELaI3p2aHqo7D96sngAC_HI9ulrN5y4sFOS1q5sA38Y1x2kM0RGak/s320/MonkMaxGordon.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max Gordon, owner of the Village Vanguard, passing through after grabbing a bite</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i style="text-align: left;">(With thanks to <a href="https://www.mosaicrecords.com/" target="_blank">Michael Cuscuna</a> for confirming Mobley's identity.)</i></div>
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Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-56513849053524133612020-04-26T12:10:00.001+01:002020-04-26T18:04:00.471+01:00Paul Chambers plays the mambo (sort of)<div style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDK_e4IuSF-0qrFqV_2szg6VvmMp2EBxmn8uIDX6SpifgJxOOQwagqLUiwSMiHJbN-SOiZp-Idc0cRM70nqVZN3L0oXu_elmANVoZELOPtDo3uzVsJGrr7-tPeWbofIdjxODSuHz_jzls/s1600/PC+by+DStock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="704" data-original-width="467" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDK_e4IuSF-0qrFqV_2szg6VvmMp2EBxmn8uIDX6SpifgJxOOQwagqLUiwSMiHJbN-SOiZp-Idc0cRM70nqVZN3L0oXu_elmANVoZELOPtDo3uzVsJGrr7-tPeWbofIdjxODSuHz_jzls/s200/PC+by+DStock.jpg" width="132" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Chambers in 1958<br />
by <a href="https://pro.magnumphotos.com/image/NN11491721.html" target="_blank">Dennis Stock</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Boxed multi-disk sets are wonderful, but they can be a challenge to assimilate. Case in point, the sensational <b>Miles Davis - Gil Evans: </b><b style="font-style: italic;">The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings</b>, released in <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Miles-Davis-Gil-Evans-The-Complete-Columbia-Studio-Recordings/master/305684" target="_blank">1996</a>. It comprises six CDs full of music that gave us four albums, so you do the math: it contains a lot of music with a lot of repetition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, some attentive listening with the appropriate equipment—enough sound on all frequencies, particularly the bass—can unveil treasures such as Paul Chambers's bass line on take 5 of "New Rhumba".<br />
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As if to enhance the "Spanish tinge"—Jelly Roll Morton's prerequisite for jazz—in Ahmad Jamal's "New Rhumba" almost 2/3 into the track (at the 2:47 mark) Chambers doesn't walk in four—nor does he bounces in two—as he does elsewhere, but he plays a "Latin"-sounding pattern which is a joy to hear.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fL90WmN84C4?rel=0&showinfo=0;start=167" width="560"></iframe><br />
</div><br />
Of the three takes of "New Rhumba" included in the set (#3, #5, and the master; at least 12 were started), this is the only one where Chambers plays that pattern, which in the jazz canon has at least one rather well-known precedent: the intro to Charlie Parker's January 1951 version of "Star Eyes":<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/siYG-PIaDUc?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
... where the trumpet player with Parker is, incidentally, Miles Davis.<br />
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From direct testimonies and some bits from those <i>Miles Ahead</i> outtakes, we know that Gil Evans tended to work on the fly, trying things on the spot. It's not unlikely that, for that take, he asked Chambers to play something "Latin" and that either Evans or Chambers himself thought of that Charlie Parker record. Asked about this, Chambers's biographer Rob Palmer, a bass player himself, says that "it is very rare for Chambers to play anything with a Latin feel and, in my experience, it tended to be when it was written. Gil Evans did a lot of Latin tinges in these recordings so my guess is that the section you are referring to is a loosely composed bass part". Coincidentally, Chambers revisits the "Spanish tinge" in "Blues for Pablo" on the same session.<br />
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As for the actual pattern, this is a transcript of the intro to "Star Eyes" from Larry Koch's book <i>Yardbird Suite</i>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73M6iZ2ZKm95pD2PRwfUhqcKYkdo5mXND2n-1s84asf7u4Yjk4GyCUg8oZNcFw0ewrBBIkJHlD_GTI8Z5u-73GGeVvBnlVOod-xC3If1Xny4rKHpi5DbA2XnIYkrscfewwMP83_6PaBU/s1600/LatinVamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="222" data-original-width="1600" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg73M6iZ2ZKm95pD2PRwfUhqcKYkdo5mXND2n-1s84asf7u4Yjk4GyCUg8oZNcFw0ewrBBIkJHlD_GTI8Z5u-73GGeVvBnlVOod-xC3If1Xny4rKHpi5DbA2XnIYkrscfewwMP83_6PaBU/s320/LatinVamp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Another bass player friend, Pablo Aslan, says this is a variation on the mambo—noting the first eighth note tied to the fourth in the first full bar—"more syncopated and anticipated" than the classical version of the Cuban rhythm, which makes it fit better with swing rhythms. Both Pablo and Rob concur that Chambers's playing this must have been Evans's idea.<br />
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<b>Music from </b><i><b>Miles Ahead:</b> </i>in 2018 I had an article out about how <i>Miles Ahead </i>came to be. It can be read <a href="http://jazz-hitz.musikene.eus/index.php/jazz-hitz/article/view/11" target="_blank">here</a> (PDF). More recently, I've put together playlists reflecting the music as it was played in the recording sessions, for streaming on YouTube and Spotify. It can be listened to, here:<br />
<ul><li>Session 1 (<a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=570506" target="_blank">discography</a>): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQCOzKjQldpocG2XEnBt5EP" target="_blank">YouTube</a> / <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0KKMLFraCXuW5s5j5XeM0E" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
<li>Session 2 (<a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=570510" target="_blank">discography</a>): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQ7ipjtjOrhqo-MjiVck_cx" target="_blank">YouTube</a> / <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0G4QLuL3YzOCt9VbavbTHc" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
<li>Session 3 (<a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=570523" target="_blank">discography</a>): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCTb1v-La7OQ-0VemEz2Jc0u" target="_blank">YouTube</a> / <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/00bgCnAOoq7AajtfrdmgWL" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
<li>Session 4 (<a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Sessions.aspx?s=570527" target="_blank">discography</a>): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCS2r0GWGc6KzTdXzdTAIaNV" target="_blank">YouTube</a> / <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/78n9bbU7OayPLiqkKAv7J4" target="_blank">Spotify</a> </li>
<li>Session 5 (<a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesAhead/Sessions.aspx?s=570822" target="_blank">discography</a>): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQ8s8WX5-ubg0DDVJtiyOKN" target="_blank">YouTube</a> / <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/ferurbina/playlist/4QQhBHpcTA8RaDsncHlyRK" target="_blank">Spotify</a> </li>
</ul>The "discography" links lead to <b>Peter Losin</b>'s website <i><a href="http://www.plosin.com/milesahead/Main.aspx" target="_blank">Miles Ahead</a></i>, the best, handiest, online reference for the discographies of Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. It even carries transcriptions of the chatter picked up on recordings.<br />
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<div><br />
</div>Thanks and credits:<br />
<ul><li style="text-align: left;"><b>Rob Palmer</b>'s biography of Paul Chambers, <i>Mr. P.C.</i>, is <a href="https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/mr-pc/" target="_blank">here</a>. It won the <i>2013 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research in Jazz</i>. Its introduction can be read <a href="http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2018/11/mr-p-c-life-and-music-of-paul-chambers.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><b>Pablo Aslan</b>'s website is <a href="http://www.pabloaslan.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. He has appeared before in this blog, <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2013/04/piazzolla-in-ny-i-brooklyn-2011.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><b>Lawrence E. Koch</b>'s <i>Yardbird Suite - A Compendium of the Music and Life of Charlie Parker</i> was published by Northeastern University Press (ISBN: 1-55552-384-1).</li>
</ul></div></div>Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-57401875391079573622020-04-15T20:10:00.000+01:002020-04-15T20:10:16.602+01:00Django's magic<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is very little footage of Django Reinhardt playing (<a href="https://vimeo.com/57987169" target="_blank">this</a>, go to 2:28, is by far the best available), which makes it difficult to appreciate his dazzling technique. But we can somehow extrapolate.</div>
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Django's technique gets even more interesting, given that he only had two fully functioning fingers in his left hand, which was crippled in a fire when he was 19.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBUPhru239mkvBM7RjgaA91d2bl_xthurysUB9dzUqtaNZqddKqgAnUumFxuSeBMNQlhW2fjHyyP2S7zKuQ_c3_sTSHywkay3IHHK8JaGK4TU975GaTpb-zd8oQh6Nd4cSMDfj5ck_Uw/s1600/Django+Hand3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="914" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBUPhru239mkvBM7RjgaA91d2bl_xthurysUB9dzUqtaNZqddKqgAnUumFxuSeBMNQlhW2fjHyyP2S7zKuQ_c3_sTSHywkay3IHHK8JaGK4TU975GaTpb-zd8oQh6Nd4cSMDfj5ck_Uw/s320/Django+Hand3.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Sources: <a href="https://www.leoweekly.com/2016/11/django-gypsy-jazz-fest/" target="_blank">left</a> / <a href="https://www.loc.gov/resource/gottlieb.07301.0/?sp=1" target="_blank">right</a>)</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">Now, this is Stochelo Rosenberg playing "Les Yeux Noirs" ("Dark Eyes").</span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CMDqjfODTyQ?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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As it happens, what Rosenberg plays is Django's 1947 recording of this tune, almost exactly verbatim.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BYZ4QpEdXvU?rel=0&showinfo=0" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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Going back to Rosenberg's video and the images above, I think we can get a better appreciation of what Django was capable of.Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-50915408304592034172020-04-14T15:08:00.002+01:002020-06-04T14:40:11.472+01:00Jazz pour tous! (1959-1969)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8wvR-8VOAj9NScNz_28cTLD9Cuq_zR9xCO1d8Psna5KyI-PwWz_JMIXPzP9DS4Jreqg9bUQ4eIx5LBH31hopyExlJy2omz-k2tqg_x2yGLofdWgzsSmohZWdWK0Hpn2_XOsl38UDVUw/s1600/JazzpourTous2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="585" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8wvR-8VOAj9NScNz_28cTLD9Cuq_zR9xCO1d8Psna5KyI-PwWz_JMIXPzP9DS4Jreqg9bUQ4eIx5LBH31hopyExlJy2omz-k2tqg_x2yGLofdWgzsSmohZWdWK0Hpn2_XOsl38UDVUw/s320/JazzpourTous2.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean-Marie Peterken and Nicolas Dor present <i>Jazz pour Tous!</i></td></tr>
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The wonders of European TV archives never cease. Besides the more recent footage which is being rescued weekly from the vaults of Spanish TV (see <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2016/03/cifus-legacy-one-year-later.html" target="_blank">here</a>), we have now a bunch of programmes from RTB (Belgian public broadcaster) show <i>Jazz por tous!</i>, "Jazz for everyone!", which was broadcast for ten years from 1959. The show had actually started as a radio programme by Belgian <i>aficionados</i> Nicolas Dor (correspondent for American rag <i>Record Changer</i> covering Belgium, France, and the Netherlands) and Jean-Marie Peterken, and it had a spin-off in the short-lived festival in Comblain-la-Tour, where Cannonball Adderley recorded his LP <i>Cannonball in Europe</i> in 1962.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD05rRfX3d-xfqVg2gmEfSb3ndOjA13Q7o9Huc-W7V8C8Lr_BY70GI_xtq8M1TabyiQ6d68Q-mWWSrmiaPWZfjwTTKREF9v0gtu0RkReiYe3_4X5vn9Ha5fachObh5W6MY7nnARw2pW0/s1600/Cannonball+in+Europe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="995" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD05rRfX3d-xfqVg2gmEfSb3ndOjA13Q7o9Huc-W7V8C8Lr_BY70GI_xtq8M1TabyiQ6d68Q-mWWSrmiaPWZfjwTTKREF9v0gtu0RkReiYe3_4X5vn9Ha5fachObh5W6MY7nnARw2pW0/s320/Cannonball+in+Europe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Without further ado, these are the shows available (some may be blocked in certain regions): <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/concert-de-art-blakey-et-ses-new-jazzmen" target="_blank">Art Blakey and his New Jazzmen</a> (sic) in Paris, November 3, 1965 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Freddie Hubbard-t, Nathan Davis-ts, Jaki Byard-p, Reggie Workman-b) (1968.03.16)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-13111966" target="_blank">Charles Lloyd Quartet</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(Lloyd-ts, fl, Keith Jarrett-p, Cecil McBee-b, Jack DeJohnette-d) (1966.11.13) </span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-17041965" target="_blank">Charles Mingus</a>, Liège 1964 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Eric Dolphy-as, b-cl, Clifford Jordan-ts, Jaki Byard-p, Dannie Richmond-d) (1965.04.07)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-02051964" target="_blank">Chet Baker</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(with Jacques Pelzer-as, fl, René Urtreger-p, Luigi Trussardi-b,Franco Manzecchi-d) (1964.05.02</span>)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-19121961" target="_blank">Count Basie and His Orchestra</a> in Concert in Charleroi, possibly in 1959 <span style="font-size: small;">(left to right, </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">trumpets: Thad Jones, Snooky Young, Wendell Culley, Joe Newman; trombones: Henry Coker, Al Grey, Benny Powell; reeds: Billy Mitchell, Frank Wess, Marshal Royal, Frank Foster, Charlie Fowlkes; Eddie Jones-b, Freddie Green-g, Sonny Payne-d, Joe Williams-voc</span>) (1961.12.19)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-11121965" target="_blank">Dave Brubeck Quartet</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(with Paul Desmond-as, Gene Wright-b, Joe Morello-d) (1965.12.11)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous_1" target="_blank">Earl Hines Trio</a>, live in Comblain-la-Tour <span style="font-size: small;">(with Roland Haynes-b, Wallace Bishop-d)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-17061967" target="_blank">Earl Hines</a>, Paris Jazz Festival 1967 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Stuff Smith-v, Roy Eldridge-tp, voc, Don Byas, Ben Webster-ts, Jimmy Woode-b, Kenny Clarke-d) (1967.06.17)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/norman-granz-jazz-at-the-philarmonic" target="_blank">JATP</a> in Brussels <span style="font-size: small;">(with Dizzy Gillespie-tp, voc, Sonny Stitt-as, ts, Lou Levy-p, Ray Brown-b, Gus Johnson-d ) (1958.12.21)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-23101965" target="_blank">Jimmy McGriff Trio</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(McGriff-org, Thornel Schwartz-g, Richard Easley-d) (1965.10.23)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-19021966" target="_blank">John Coltrane Quartet</a> in Comblain-la-Tour, August 1, 1965 <span style="font-size: small;">(with McCoy Tyner-p, Jimmy Garrison-b, Elvin Jones-d) (1966-02-19)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-29011967" target="_blank">Lee Konitz Trio w/Bill Evans</a> in Paris, November 3, 1965 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen-b, Alan Dawson-d) (1967-01-29)</span></li><li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-29091962" target="_blank">Modern Jazz Quartet (1/2)</a> Recorded on November 5, 1961 <span style="font-size: small;">(1962.09.29)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-18081963" target="_blank">Modern Jazz Quartet (2/2)</a> Recorded on November 5, 1961 <span style="font-size: small;">(1963.08.18)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-16011962" target="_blank">René Thomas/Bobby Jaspar</a> <span style="font-size: small;">(with Jaspar-ts, fl, René Thomas-g, Amedeo Tommasi-p, Benoît Quersin-b, Daniel Humair-d) (1962.01.16)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-24061962" target="_blank">Sammy Price and His New Negro All-Stars</a> in Antwerp, October 24, 1958 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Price-p, Doc Cheatham-tp, JC Higginbotham-tb, Elmer Crumbley-tb, Eddie Barefield-cl, as, voc, Jimmy Lewis-b, JC Heard-d, Taffi Douglas-voc) (1962.06.24)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-07011967" target="_blank">Showtime at the Blue Note</a>, live at the Blue Note in Brussels, May 1966 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Ted Curson-tp, Nathan Davis-fl, Pony Poindexter-as, Booker Ervin-ts, Kenny Drew-p, Jimmy Woode-b, Edgar Baterman-d) (1967.01.07)</span> </li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-17011965" target="_blank">Thelonious Monk (1/2)</a>, live in Brussels, March 10, 1963 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Charlie Rouse-ts, John Ore-b, Frankie Dunlop-d) (1965.01.17)</span></li>
<li><a href="https://www.sonuma.be/archive/jazz-pour-tous-du-07071963" target="_blank">Thelonious Monk (2/2)</a>, live in Brussels, March 10, 1963 <span style="font-size: small;">(with Charlie Rouse-ts, John Ore-b, Frankie Dunlop-d) (1963.07.07)</span></li>
</ul>
Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-56854262064046330782019-07-10T14:20:00.000+01:002019-07-13T13:32:15.840+01:00Chega de saudade, Joãozinho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_opJ2mo1w6Yo/R1RDOg0wHXI/AAAAAAAAAPk/1w9wKYNrww4/s400/Jo%C3%A3o+Gilberto+-+Chega+de+Saudade+fr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://bp0.blogger.com/_opJ2mo1w6Yo/R1RDOg0wHXI/AAAAAAAAAPk/1w9wKYNrww4/s400/Jo%C3%A3o+Gilberto+-+Chega+de+Saudade+fr.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Last Saturday João Gilberto passed away at age 88, of natural causes, at his home in Rio de Janeiro. Contrary to his reputation of being a recluse and despite his age, only four days earlier he had gone <a href="https://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/exclusivo-dias-antes-de-morrer-joao-gilberto-contrariou-fama-de-recluso-jantou-em-restaurante-do-leme-23789968" target="_blank">out for dinner</a> with his partner and his attorney, a rather central figure in his life of late.</div>
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Since his passing, the outpour of love and recognition from all over the world for the singer and guitarist has been overwhelming. Part of it is due to João's public visibility thanks to his success in the USA in the early 1960s—I'm sure I'm not the only one to play <i>Getz/Gilberto</i>, a sensational record, from track #2 onwards, skipping “The Girl from Ipanema”.</div>
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But beyond fame—the one aspect Brazil's current president was able to acknowledge—what made João special? In jazz terms, he was to <i>bossa nova</i> what Charlie Parker was to bebop.</div>
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The massive success of <i>bossa nova</i> and its turning into a fad—the only way a “<i>bossa nova</i> fridge” can be explained—may obscure the exuberant riches of Brazilian music. From the outside looking in, <i>bossa</i> may seem the absolute apex of their music; it may be so, but it is not a solitary tree in vast plain, but a tall one in a rich jungle which encompasses everything from Pixinguinha's <i>choros </i>to whatever erupts from Hermeto Pascoal's fertile mind. João was unique, but didn't come from a void: fellow singer Caetano Veloso, for one, puts him in the lineage of Dorival Caymmi and Orlando Silva.</div>
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<i>Bossa</i>'s popularity is closely tied to the relationship of this music with the US. While this brought about an unprecedented commercial success, and a cultural impact outside Brazil only comparable to Carmen Miranda two decades earlier, it also confused things with titles such as <i>Bossa Nova: New Brazilian Jazz</i> (the infamous Carnegie Hall concert of 1962) or <i>Jazz/Samba</i> (Stan Getz's record with Charlie Byrd), and “critical” descriptions like Joachim E. Berendt's mix of “sambas with cool jazz”. Claus Schreiner's <i>Musica Brasileira</i> elaborates on this, but suffice to say that <i>bossa nova</i> is not a fusion of <i>samba</i> and jazz.</div>
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In the mid-1950s, Brazil lived a sweet moment of national pride, with Juscelino Kubitschek as president, the building of a new capital and the work of its architect Oscar Niemeyer, and a group of composers and poets which included Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Morães. One of the works by these two was called “Chega de Saudade”, enough of <i>saudade</i>, of yearning, of melancholy. </div>
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As the story goes, although João was liked by some musicians, he was not favoured by the movers and shakers in the industry. When Jobim, pianist, composer and arranger, managed to have the song recorded for the first time, it was sung by Elizete Cardoso, with a group including João on guitar. This was made around March 1958. Interestingly for us, there are parts where Cardoso is accompanied solely by João's guitar. </div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/B1vvBbGHKvM" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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Not long after that, vocal group Os Cariocas were going to record it when a member of the group came across João, told him that he hadn't managed to learn the rhythm on the guitar, and asked him to show him. Instead, João offered to play it on the record, anonymously.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/6L6WUoIFm4Y" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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Discussions about the first recording of a musical genre are generally pointless. However, these two takes on this song illustrate how radical João's role was in establishing the new genre. Yes, it came from samba, but the concept, the approach to singing, the enunciation, the rhythmic tensions between vocals and guitar—which in time would reach ridiculous levels of virtuosity—were all his.</div>
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Almost with the same band as in Cardoso's record, this is João doing the first track of his solo career, which would be released as a single, and later would become track 1 on side A of his first LP. João, with the indispensable Jobim on piano and <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-drums-of-bossa-nova.html" target="_blank">Milton Banana</a> on drums, finished this track 61 years ago today, on July 10, 1958.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eWXGsgI-QGk" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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After this, there would be three LPs, <i>Chega de Saudade</i>, <i>O Amor, o sorriso, è a flor</i>, and the eponymous <i>João Gilberto</i>. Then, success in the USA, fame, prestige. In his music, a deepening of his convictions regarding sound and execution, with a growing rhythmic elasticity between his voice and his guitar, with his voice seemingly rushing to end the verses and leave room to his metronomic chords.</div>
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Those three albums, plus an EP with three versions of songs from Marcel Camus's film <i>Orfeu Negro</i>, all done for the Brazilian branch of Odeon, i. e., EMI, show him establishing the blueprint, in terms of execution and repertoire, for <i>bossa nova</i>, which is not just one rhythm, but an approach, softer than <i>samba</i>, with more sparse instrumentation and more surrealistic lyrics, even to the point of self-reference. Originally a parody by Jobim and Newton Mendonça of second-rate singers, João's second release, “Desafinado” can also be taken as a defense against some of the criticisms he had to stand, accusations of being “out of tune”, which are “immensely hurtful”, vindicating that “this is <i>bossa nova</i>, this is very natural” and that “in the chest of desafinados' there beats a heart too”. In another example of metatext, also by Jobim and Mendonça, “Samba de Uma Nota Só”, which contrasts static melody—one note—against moving harmonies and vice versa, while the lyrics describe what the music is doing.</div>
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At the beginning I said that João's attorneys have played a central role in his last years. Besides stories about cancelled concerts in 2011 for which significant advances had been payed, and the rifts between relatives, partners present and past, and his offspring, those seminal three albums have been at the centre of a long-standing dispute between João and EMI, now Universal. As I've said <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/search/label/Jo%C3%A3o%20Gilberto" target="_blank">elsewhere</a>, the result is that we don't have an official edition of this music. If it happens, an effort should be made to unearth footage like this.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/V9deMsQTx-4" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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João Gilberto was a special man in many ways, and all the legal and personal quarrels in his last years were something he didn't need. No more blues. <i>Chega de saudade</i>, Joãozinho. </div>
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<b>How to listen to João Gilberto, 1958-1961</b><br />
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<i>On CD</i><b> </b></div>
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<li>The “official”, out of print CD <i><a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-The-Legendary-Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-The-Original-Bossa-Nova-Recordings-1958-1961/master/270628" target="_blank">The Legendary João Gilberto</a> </i>(<i>O Mito</i> in Brazil) released in 1990 included the three LPs plus the three songs from <i>Black Orpheus</i>, with “A Felicidade” and “O Nosso Amor” together in a medley. </li>
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<li>As part of a vast Brazilian music series, <a href="https://www.cherryred.co.uk/artist/joao-gilberto/" target="_blank">Él/Cherry Red</a> did the first CD reissues in years of this music, breaking down the <i>Black Orpheus </i>medley back to its original, separate form. By doing it over three CDs (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-Chega-De-Saudade/release/2179094" target="_blank">ACMEM179CD</a>, <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-O-Amor-O-Sorriso-E-A-Flor-Love-A-Smile-And-A-Flower/release/2703226" target="_blank">ACMEM201CD</a>, <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto/release/4035750" target="_blank">ACMEM223CD</a>), they also included a lot of contemporary music relevant to João's work, providing context and thus highlighting his uniqueness. </li>
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<li>There's also <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-The-Warm-World-Of-Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-The-Man-Who-Invented-Bossa-Nova-Complete-Recordings-/release/3596608" target="_blank"><i>The Warm World of João Gilberto</i></a> (Ubatuqui, UBCD 314), which carries the same music, including the medley, plus an alternative take of “Este seu olhar”, from the third LP, originally included in the US version of the Atlantic LP <i>Boss of the Bossa Nova</i> (USA, 1962). </li>
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<li><a href="https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Gilberto-The-Master-Of-The-Bossa-Nova/release/11287325" target="_blank"><i>The Master of the Bossa Nova</i></a> (Malanga 400147) does not have the alternative “Este seu olhar” but carries “A Felicidade” and “O Nosso Amor” in two tracks.</li>
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<i>On line</i></div>
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCSAUHeSue69w8jM-qTZTEde" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/64lHzYRxacdkZTWhFnumOY" target="_blank">Spotify</a> </li>
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Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-6470144041785844392019-06-20T09:48:00.000+01:002019-07-03T13:17:36.391+01:00Robert Johnson and the electric guitar<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapJDkw9knVtxySwZfyKxSqcKhpMd8QW1UxrWFooBVfI5-TaIqcRE2Noiq50klrYBKId1_AIjFQF4bJJnBJT4INYXldy-2xzxXMAst95paZIuYRSAkQZ3oDu6T6nrt-cM1yIRPfmrOMms/s1600/RJ+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="957" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapJDkw9knVtxySwZfyKxSqcKhpMd8QW1UxrWFooBVfI5-TaIqcRE2Noiq50klrYBKId1_AIjFQF4bJJnBJT4INYXldy-2xzxXMAst95paZIuYRSAkQZ3oDu6T6nrt-cM1yIRPfmrOMms/s320/RJ+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
What is it about Robert Johnson that invites speculation? From his (re)appearance in popular music in the 1960s, to his resurgence in the early 1990s, he must be the African-American musician about whom most drivel has been written and spoken. </div>
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Now that the biography by Bruce Conforth and Gayle Dean Wardlow is out—my review: essential reading—, speculation should diminish significantly. Never mind that, I now offer you a bit of guessing, at least to provide some context regarding Johnson and the electric guitar, an instrument with a tradition in blues and rock heavily influenced by Johnson, even though he never really played it himself.</div>
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By the time Johnson made his first recordings in 1936, the regular—or "Spanish"—electric guitar had already been recorded (I wrote about that <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2016/09/electric-guitarwhos-on-first.html" target="_blank">here</a>). It appears that Johnson never got around to use one regularly, although Conforth and Wardlow detail how he did try it (in New York City!). In this context Charlie Christian gets the compulsory namecheck, but given his and Johnson's travels—Christian to the west of Johnson—, it is unlikely that they crossed paths. In any case, there were other soloists playing <i>and</i> <i>recording</i> with it while Johnson was alive. The most prolific of those would be Muryel, best known as "Zeke", Campbell. </div>
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When Johnson made it to his appointment with producer Don Law in Dallas in June 1937, the Light Crust Doughboys had already been making some records for him. Among those was "Blue Guitars", not the earliest recording of an electric guitar but, with its title and Campbell flat-picking single-note lines for more than half the record, an explicit showcase for the "new" instrument.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2EFcvwe6gb0" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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This recording was made on Sunday, June 13, less than a week before Johnson got to make his Dallas debut on Saturday 19. The next day, Sunday 20, he would record for the last time, on a busy day with the following bands going through the makeshift studio at 508 Park Avenue.</div>
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<li>The Light Crust Doughboys (masters DAL-385 to 392)</li>
<li>Clifford Gross and Muryel Campbell (master DAL-393)</li>
<li>Robert Johnson (masters DAL-394 to 403)</li>
<li>Blue Ridge Cowboys</li>
<li>Donnell Rezah (personal record)</li>
<li>John Boyd and His Southerners</li>
<li>Bill Nettle and His Dixie Blueboys</li>
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About that day, Conforth and Gardlow offer the recollections of Marvin "Smokey" Montgomery, a long-time member of the Crustboys who, years later, didn't recall Johnson by name, but did remember a blues musician. This is open to speculation, but it is likely that Johnson was there before the Doughboys were done—Gross and Campbell only waxed one track, which went unreleased—and if he caught the tail of <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Z3g8DwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA385&ots=Z8aivVVV6X&dq=%22clifford%20gross%22%20%22money%20musk%22&pg=PA504#v=onepage&q&f=false" target="_blank">their session</a>, he may have heard Campbell's solos on their last two tracks, another two prime examples of BC (before Christian) electric guitar playing.</div>
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<b>The Light Crust Doughboys: "Just Once Too Often"</b> (DAL-391-2; solo begins at 1:32).</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/P4Z06U6CoAE" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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<b>The Light Crust Doughboys: "Stay Out of the South"</b> (DAL-392- ; solo begins at 1:05)<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WArSRBkeKH8" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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In any case, if Johnson heard Campbell, it had exactly the same effect as when he actually tried the instrument: none. As Conforth and Wardlow explain, Johnson traveled light and couldn't depend on whether electricity would be available. Who knows what he'd have done with it? </div>
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To listen to what Robert Johnson recorded on that day, go <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAzHladAmkCQXKbzHZg9TXXS_m2q78ByI" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-81312918399034847482019-06-05T14:04:00.001+01:002022-11-22T07:26:47.868+00:00Roy Eldridge's photographs: pulling a thread<div style="text-align: justify;">
Back in 2013, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the <a href="https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/salvaged-from-flood-waters-a-jazz-legends-recordings-draws-new-listeners/" target="_blank">saga of trumpeter Roy Eldridge's earthly possessions</a> came to light. All may have seem to be lost, but only a few days ago it was announced that the University of North Texas Music Library had "finished digitization and metadata for almost 700 photos, newspaper clippings, date books, and other documents in the Roy Eldridge Collection belonging to the Sherman (Texas) Jazz Museum." This collection can now be seen <a href="https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/collections/ROYELD/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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As of today, the collection holds 527 photographs. Even with some damage, these are a treasure, like the numerous images of Eldridge's short-lived big band, the JATP tours with Norman Granz, or the December 7, 1945 gig by this group:</div>
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<li>Coleman Hawkins, "Texas Tom" Archia: tenor saxes</li>
<li>Roy Eldridge: trumpet</li>
<li>Thelonious Monk: piano</li>
<li>Al McKibbon: bass</li>
<li>Denzil Best: drums</li>
<li>Helen Humes: vocals</li>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L6YlivdMEVvpRPqZRq0rc2G2vRuTvdLNNsCHqndjyoz8WH8upClECWBVFlxvwERAAve6vz-NKb6flbg0249_jGAtwNcJCXpLtXZlgVJjbBQ4TwaF00cFQa2R99oDSGWrLj1Zgh1r6V8/s1600/metapth1139640_xl_ROYELD_505_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="1500" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5L6YlivdMEVvpRPqZRq0rc2G2vRuTvdLNNsCHqndjyoz8WH8upClECWBVFlxvwERAAve6vz-NKb6flbg0249_jGAtwNcJCXpLtXZlgVJjbBQ4TwaF00cFQa2R99oDSGWrLj1Zgh1r6V8/s400/metapth1139640_xl_ROYELD_505_01.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thelonious Monk, Helen Humes, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge <br />
(<a href="https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1139640" target="_blank">Source</a>)</td></tr>
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Let it be a reminder that there is lot of jazz beyond the records.<br />
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Historical photographs with little information on them are an invitation to dig in. For instance, this image below was presented originally as "Jazz ensemble in performance", and correctly guesses this is in Sweden (the flags), and pre-1959 (the 48-star US flag).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJXU5vgGMQJ7IiAt8wqX2tGvYSrFoDJRag7mINPlCc2rkeEKiJJV1JB3Tuv91xC71eZTaRFdX0X-Kgd5aTBdwaBi4UkrTp7VrEBzuosM0X2o6qTn39YjuRWjy-QZvkWgsQ7xuxTU_3S0/s1600/BG+Malm%25C3%25B6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1470" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJXU5vgGMQJ7IiAt8wqX2tGvYSrFoDJRag7mINPlCc2rkeEKiJJV1JB3Tuv91xC71eZTaRFdX0X-Kgd5aTBdwaBi4UkrTp7VrEBzuosM0X2o6qTn39YjuRWjy-QZvkWgsQ7xuxTU_3S0/s400/BG+Malm%25C3%25B6.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1140103/" target="_blank">Source</a>)</td></tr>
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From the posture of the clarinetist and a guess on the pianist, plus a few searches, this happens to be a Benny Goodman Quartet playing in Malmö, Sweden, on April 20, 1950, with Dick Hyman on piano, Charles Short on bass and Ed Shaughnessy on drums.</div>
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Incredibly, there are many more images from the same gig, which included Roy Eldridge and Zoot Sims, among others, in Swedish photo archive <a href="http://bilderisyd.se/produkt-tagg/1950/page/21/" target="_blank">Bilderisyd</a>. </div>
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Perhaps more incredibly, there are at least two recordings available from this tour: one from <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Benny-Goodman-Lausanne-1950/release/10577609" target="_blank">Lausanne, Switzerland, on May 13, 1950</a>; another from <a href="https://www.discogs.com/Benny-Goodman-With-Roy-Eldridge-Zoot-Sims-Toots-Thielemans-The-King-Of-Swing-In-Sweden-1950/release/8608983" target="_blank">April 24, 1950 in Stockholm, Sweden</a>, just four days after those images from Malmö.<br />
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The Lausanne gig can be heard <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD39g8KFN-kkjG8QfJc2hLAjOCzBR9gIn" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-71449534872413303252019-03-26T16:30:00.001+00:002022-11-22T07:27:59.345+00:00The electric Julian Lage<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeiWDUQ2LbazSDIISHcZd6znUzXEDMNUEpsUsOrsAkW78Hs7hDUQcbcncC1QwpVgpd2jMzVP_I6Lk8oU5tMuZiYSFLMmmeLvDMjlzkN_9CtdxMEJ5jdY4RvnVGBz6FQgHcSXmw5PCgHI/s1600/Lage+tele.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeiWDUQ2LbazSDIISHcZd6znUzXEDMNUEpsUsOrsAkW78Hs7hDUQcbcncC1QwpVgpd2jMzVP_I6Lk8oU5tMuZiYSFLMmmeLvDMjlzkN_9CtdxMEJ5jdY4RvnVGBz6FQgHcSXmw5PCgHI/s320/Lage+tele.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="http://www.nathanwestphoto.com/" target="_blank">Nathan West</a></td></tr>
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<b><a href="http://www.julianlage.com/" target="_blank">Julian Lage</a></b> is one of the great guitar players of his generation. A child prodigy, as documented in <a href="https://youtu.be/s7FY65rd03I" target="_blank"><i>Jules at Eight</i></a>, he stopped being a promise a long time ago. Today, he regularly partakes in a wide variety of projects, but his own trio—with double bass and drums—is the unit where he shines the brightest.</div>
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When he last played London, in July 2018, at one point he asked what day it was, not so much because he'd lost track of the calendar—although that's the life of the touring musician—but in appreciation for the audience who'd packed Camden Town's Jazz Café on a Tuesday to hear, as he said, jazz.</div>
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Not that I care much about labels but, in Lage and his trio's case, "jazz" may be a bit of a misnomer. They do play instrumental music all right, and they have the chops expected from top-class musicians today, but there's more than jazz to it. In his three records with the unit, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nQP5sJCWNPKllVQUsf2DwO87ZcYGIhwOg" target="_blank"><i>Arclight</i></a></b> (2016), <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lLRr6c5-45VhkUodM2i7_Lz2tsuBSmEtU" target="_blank"><i>Modern Lore</i></a></b> (2018), and the new <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nC8JfrS28Q3SXGirmsWAx0T2UznthsZTc" target="_blank"><i>Love Hurts</i></a></b> (2019), the sound of, mostly, a Telecaster (or a <a href="https://www.nachoguitars.com/" target="_blank">Nachocaster</a>) with the classic bass and drums, reminds me of Western Swing guitar players from, or based in, California (Lage himself is a West-coaster), like <a href="https://youtu.be/_yIFsbOtmao" target="_blank">Jimmy Bryant</a> or especially <a href="https://youtu.be/zglVIQxUGr8" target="_blank">Roy Lanham</a>, players who would skip over music genres with astounding virtuosity. Like them, Lage is an explorer of his instrument, but this is the early 21st century, and his scope is as wide as it gets in terms of styles and heritages he draws from. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkbSk4wHMZ6FymHuLcKNj8YYBO6yh8PW_u7aCXjWaYZNoH84az_m01B7g_PFQignuXbLbKhLT0DkE9ud4vPIb5-5lcgEclk8_P4nHAMuC3zJUYqZ_XgYMN0kRubpoB7K-_PtU-ZyeOKU/s1600/20190325_231545.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1282" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEkbSk4wHMZ6FymHuLcKNj8YYBO6yh8PW_u7aCXjWaYZNoH84az_m01B7g_PFQignuXbLbKhLT0DkE9ud4vPIb5-5lcgEclk8_P4nHAMuC3zJUYqZ_XgYMN0kRubpoB7K-_PtU-ZyeOKU/s400/20190325_231545.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To paraphrase Spiderman's uncle Ben, with great freedom comes great responsibility, and Lage's impossibly sweet demeanour in person belies the determination and decisiveness that guide his music. In this respect, <i>Modern Lore</i> is the most significant of his trio output, not incidentally their only album presenting Lage's originals exclusively. Here, as in the previous <i>Arclight</i>, Scott Colley is on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums, somehow combining the legacies of Jim Hall and Bill Frisell.</div>
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Lage's diatonic melodies, almost wordless songs, his deliberate rhythms—Wollesen's discipline and touch have a lot to do with this—, like the rocking backbeat of the evocative <a href="https://youtu.be/RlqhJ2OT2fI" target="_blank">"General Thunder"</a>, the rolling 6/8 of <a href="https://youtu.be/YOlZmix7juM" target="_blank">"The Ramble"</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/QKxV2ZaShEg" target="_blank">"Roger the Dodger"</a>, or the trotting 2/4 of <a href="https://youtu.be/R_rRgNGReeo" target="_blank">"Wordsmith"</a>, and the structure of his tunes all show an explicit clarity that is missing in a lot of contemporary music. Most of the record is song-like this way, but there's room for an <i>ornettesque </i><a href="https://youtu.be/Onh5C_iiqx4" target="_blank">"Earth Science"</a>, still within the same sonic framework.<br />
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Yet another virtue of Lage in these records, is that he keeps his virtuosity as a flat-picker in check. As obvious as it may seem, this is no small feat for a young guitar player. There are bursts of it here and there—like the <i>Bachian</i> passage on <a href="https://youtu.be/QKxV2ZaShEg?t=132" target="_blank">"Roger..."</a>—, but there are no wasted notes, no showing off: the tunes go always first, like in <a href="https://youtu.be/-yG32K_OGoE" target="_blank">"Revelry"</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/pYigvQdH8C4" target="_blank">"Whatever You Say, Henry"</a>, in the kind of contemplative, Great Plains mood which would easily fit in composer Maria Schneider's quieter work. </div>
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The Telecaster was the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar, and it has a beautiful natural sound, which Lage exploits wisely. Like a human voice, he lets it distort when it gets loud and, even though it is an electric instrument, expressive variety comes mostly from Lage's hands, their position on the guitar and the strength he applies to it.</div>
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Which leads to his astounding use of dynamics. Even in concert—with Jorge Roeder on bass and Eric Doob on drums—he can go from the quietest moments to the grandest roar, as in the video below, which shows the ending of his 2018 gig in London.</div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="304" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BKYZa-VIs_0" width="540"></iframe><br /></div>
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In some many words, catch this trio if you can. They are currently on tour (<a href="http://www.julianlage.com/tour" target="_blank">dates</a>).Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-61954181421825173262019-03-17T09:00:00.000+00:002019-03-18T12:21:03.763+00:00Nat "King" Cole, pianist<div style="text-align: justify;">
In this week of jazz centennials (Mercer Ellington on the 11th, <a href="http://jazzontherecord.blogspot.com/2017/11/for-love-of-george.html" target="_blank">George Avakian</a> on the 15th, Lennie Tristano on the 19th), today we celebrate Nat "King" Cole's. He was a great singer, especially given his limited resources and a popular entertainer. He was also a terribly influential pianist—Lennie Tristano and Hank Jones certainly listened to him—who helped establish the piano trio, albeit with a guitar instead of drums, the format Oscar Peterson, another Cole fan, maintained until mid-1959.</div>
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Cole recorded a lot with his trio, both for commercial release (for Decca, and later <a href="http://jazzofftherecord.blogspot.com/2010/10/spotify-playlist-i-nat-king-cole-mosaic.html" target="_blank">Capitol</a>) and for radio broadcast (or transcriptions). Among the latter, there is a recording called "Miss Thing", effectively a reduction to the trio of the Count Basie Orchestra side "Miss Thing (Part II)", which shows a lesser known aspect of Cole's musicianship.</div>
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<b>Basie's "Miss Thing (Part II)" </b>(early 1939)<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/pBi3J6Wevsc" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<b>Cole's "Miss Thing" </b>(late 1943)<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IsmVNhbN20c" width="560"></iframe></div>
Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5111788345564582878.post-33198444258007182002019-02-03T10:46:00.001+00:002019-02-03T11:00:28.260+00:00Jacob Rex Zimmerman<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0917179668_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0917179668_16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jacob Rex Zimmerman</td></tr>
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As <a href="http://jacobrexzimmerman.com/about" target="_blank">his website</a> explains, Jacob Zimmerman is a sax and clarinet player based in Seattle. He's 32, and he has two records out focusing on jazz as it was played in the 1940s. The earlier one, <a href="https://jacobrexzimmerman.bandcamp.com/album/recording-ban" target="_blank"><i>Recording Ban</i></a>, refers to the stoppage to commercial recording imposed by union boss James Petrillo, starting in August 1, 1942 and ending in 1943-44 (depending on the record label). The title of his latest record, <a href="https://jacobrexzimmerman.bandcamp.com/album/more-of-that" target="_blank"><i>More of That</i></a>, sounds like a reference to the previous one, delving as it does in music from around those years.</div>
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Revivalism in jazz in a tricky subject, open to all sorts of questions, starting with whether it should be done at all. For the epicurean listener who enjoys the records of that kind of music, the chance to hear it re-recorded or, better still, live, will always be welcome, despite the obvious risk for disappointment, proportional to the listener's familiarity with the originals on record.</div>
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Both albums show an understanding of the music from that era, swing to bop, that exceeds expectations. The sound of the horns, the drummers' general playing, the bass lines, the interaction between players... everything is spoken in the language of the era. And this is not mere musical archeology. This music breathes and it's alive. It is played with the sense of inevitability that honest art carries. And it swings.</div>
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<i>Recording Ban</i> is exemplar in this sense. It shows the care and study put in this music, regarding both the chronology and choice of pieces. It closes with Charlie Parker's "Koko", signalling the definitive arrival of Bebop, followed by "52nd St. Theme", which Bird used as his theme to bookend his live sets. At the other end, it opens with "Swing to Bop" (a selection with which <a href="http://halfspeedjazz.blogspot.com/2012/08/charlie-christian-swing-to-bop-541.html" target="_blank">I may or may not have something to do</a>), recorded in May 1941 live at Minton's, and it treasures the kind of attention to detail that goes with careful study, like the opening fade-in on the second A of a chorus (just like in the original recording), the riffs, Zimmerman's several quotes from the original, the trumpet's contemporary quote of "Blue Skies" (2:09), the accents played by the piano... </div>
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In the latest edition of "London Calling", my segment for Spanish-language podcast <a href="http://www.elclubdejazz.com/programa/491/" target="_blank"><i>Club de Jazz</i></a>, we've played two selections from those two records. Zimmerman's website is <a href="http://jacobrexzimmerman.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, and his music can be tasted and purchased <a href="https://jacobrexzimmerman.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Fernando Ortiz de Urbinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09630700849177588445noreply@blogger.com0